Requiem
Director Hans-Christian Schmid helms this award winning account of a first-year university student whose bout with epilepsy leads to a tragic exorcism. Inspired by the same events that were previously dramatized in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Requiem follows college freshman and devoted Catholic Michaela Klinger (Sandra Hueller) as she attempts to adjust to dormitory life while struggling to meet the growing pressures and academic expectations of school. Though a tentative friendship with temperamental classmate Hanna (Anna Blomeier) and a blossoming romance with easygoing chemistry student Stefan (Nicholas Reinke) at first find the shy student developing a pair of healthy bonds, an ill-advised abandonment of her medication regimen sets into motion a chilling series of events. Warned by a series of apparitions and disembodied voices that she should stay away from rosaries and crucifixes, Michaela seeks out the help of both her parents and amiable priest Father Landauer (Walter Schmidinger) to no avail. When Michaela becomes convinced that she is being made to suffer in the same manner of a well-known saint, well-intending pastor Borchert (Jens Harzer) hastily assembles an in-home exorcism that is doomed to end in tragedy. more..
Director: Hans-Christian Schmid
Starring: Sandra Hüller, Imogen Kogge, Burghart KlauÃner, Anna Blomeier, Nicholas Reinke
Requiem, the new film from German director Hans-Christian Schmid, is absolutely astonishing. See it if you possibly can.
Requiem is drawn from an incident that was also the basis for last year's demon-seed hit, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose."
Stunningly played story of faith vs. family.
An exorcism movie for the rest of us, the gripping German drama Requiem contains not a single special effect. It doesn't need one. It has terrific actors fully invested in a casual-seeming, docudramatic brand of storytelling, notably Sandra Hueller.
Bogumil Godfrejow's raw cinematography and Huller's poignant, close-to-the-bone performance transform what might have been a morbid curiosity into an entirely enthralling, quietly terrifying experience.
Best Young Actress (Darstellernachwuchspreis)
Bavarian Film Awards (2006)
Competition
Berlin International Film Festival (2006)
International Film Competition
Chicago International Film Festival (2006)
Best Actress
Chlotrudis Awards (2007)
Best Actress
European Film Awards (2006)
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