Michaela goes from living a sheltered life to going to college in the big city. She also starts having seizures again and thinks that she’s under demonic possession.
Michaela (Sandra Huller) is a shy, wallflower type that has had to set out most of the last semester of her high school years (or whatever they’re called in Germany) because she’s had to be in a hospital for her epileptic seizures. She gets accepted into university and is wanting to leave the nest and attend. Her religious parents (Burghart Klaussner and Imogene Kogge) are concerned about her.
Michaela is tormented by demons, but which kind?
Her overprotective mother doesn’t want her to go away to school, but her father thinks that she should be able to have the opportunity. She goes away to school and reconnects with an old school chum, Hanna (Anna Blomeier), and even gets her first boyfriend, Stefan (Nicholas Reinke).
However, the seizures return and Michaela finds that she cannot touch her rosary. She consults her priests Martin (Jens Harzer), the younger, and Martin Borchert (Walter Schmidinger), the elder. The elder priest has his doubts about her being possessed, but the younger one is more apt to believe her story.
Although Requiem gets favorable comparison to the Exorcist, those expecting gobs of pea soup will go away disappointed. The film did remind me of Ingmar Bergnam, which is never a bad thing. Though the language is German and not Bergman’s Swedish. The success of the film rises or falls on the performance of Sandra Huller and she does quite an excellent job as the confused, distraught Michaela.
This exorcism is not as exciting as others
Those comparisons may also arise from the fact that the duo of exorcists is similar to those in the Exorcist. Though it would appear that the elder priest is not convinced that this is a case of demon possession. This time the younger priest is more apt to believe the girl. The demons are more of a psychological manifestation. We’re not sure if they’re real or if they’re a figment of Michaela’s imagination.
The movie also offers no easy answers to those questions either. The viewer is left to decide whether Michaela is the victim of demons from beyond or suffering from her own personal demons. The movie might be interpreted as slow by those expecting lots of gore (there is none by the way), but those looking for a good drama about potential demon might find this one interesting.
Requiem is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Sadly, there are no special features.
Requiem is more of a character study of one German girl’s battle with demons of her own mind or of the supernatural kind. The movie is bolstered by a fine performance by Sandra Huller. If you’re a fan of foreign cinema then you’ll enjoy this film. However, those expecting a pea soup fest will be disappointed.
Michaela finds love at school
Requiem is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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