Alex, an ex-con working as muscle in a Vienna brothel, dreams of escaping with his girlfriend Tamara, who also works there. Their attempt to break free sets off a chain of events that links their fate with a rural police officer and his troubled marriage. As their lives intersect, a quiet struggle unfolds between guilt, grief, and the desire for redemption.
Direction
Spielmann's unflinching long takes that refuse to look away.
Acting
Krisch's simmering grief—barely contained, never performed.
Cinematography
Vienna's grimy underbelly vs. purgatorial countryside.
Director
Götz Spielmann
Johannes Krisch
Alex
Irina Potapenko
Tamara
Andreas Lust
Robert
Ursula Strauss
Susanne
Hanno Pöschl
Konecny
Johannes Thanheiser
Hausner
Linde Prelog
Robert's Mother
Michael-Joachim Heiss
Tagportier
Rainer Gradischnig
Harry
Toni Slama
Customer
Johannes Zeiler
Police Officer #3
Max Schmiedl
Police Officer #1
Magdalena Kropiunig
Prostitute
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The title 'Revanche' deliberately evokes both revenge and a second chance—neither of which Alex truly achieves. Spielmann spent years refining the script to ensure no character was simply villain or victim.
Austria's sole Foreign Language Oscar nominee that year, it lost to Departures—proof that Academy voters fear emotional subtlety. The film revitalized Austrian cinema's international reputation after Haneke's shadow.
AT
