Requiem (2006)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Stella D

  
  a tragic clash of science and superstition inspired by the case of a mentally ill and very religious german girl who died under exorcism in the 70s. the film is understated and plays almost like a documentary

• El Hombre I

  
  Don't see this expecting something in the vein of The Exorcist. There aren't any spinning heads or projectile vomiting and no sign of the demon Pazuzu here. Instead, Requiem is a non-sensationalized, non-judgmental look at what happens when mental illness clashes with… More
  Don't see this expecting something in the vein of The Exorcist. There aren't any spinning heads or projectile vomiting and no sign of the demon Pazuzu here. Instead, Requiem is a non-sensationalized, non-judgmental look at what happens when mental illness clashes with religion. Based on the same case that inspired The Exorcism of Emily Rose, but the two films are different. Emily Rose focused primarily on a lawyer involved in a court case involving the Priest who performed the exorcism, while Requiem focuses on the woman and is a drama about what can lead someone to believe they are possessed. The topic of exorcism may be easy "go to" material for horror films, but Requiem is not a horror film and the director doesn't decide for us whether or not she is possessed, but instead lets us draw our own conclusions. Lead actress Sandra Huller is really great throughout the film and the handheld camerawork is a nice touch in making the viewer feel as if they are in the room alongside her family. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=requiem.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/requiem.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Jens S

  
  Like "The exorcism of Emily Rose" this film is (merely) inspired by the true events around Anneliese Michel in Germany of the 70s. A girl raised in strictly catholic terms battles with epilepsy as she is struggling to start a new life as University student. The grasp of her… More
  Like "The exorcism of Emily Rose" this film is (merely) inspired by the true events around Anneliese Michel in Germany of the 70s. A girl raised in strictly catholic terms battles with epilepsy as she is struggling to start a new life as University student. The grasp of her religious upbringing, especially in the shape of her mother, are pretty much choking her, creating an opposite reaction that leads to the church labeling her possessed, culminating in a series of unfortunate exorcism attempts. The film spares us the ugly details of those and reports about the outcome in a final info text. It doesn't give creed to the obsession-theory and therefore doesn't contain horror scenes of demons or anything like that. The movie also doesn't concentrate the blame on a single party involved and simply portrays a person who couldn't function under the pressure she got from many sides, despite of being loved by them none the less. It is the great acting that makes this slow and quiet film interesting and raises it above average. Especially Sandra Hüller in the main role does an extraordinary job.

• Pierluigi P

  
  The German counterpart of "The exorcism of Emily Rose" but with more emphasis on the family and the human drama. told with lack of grandeur and ostentation, which is not ultimately too impressive, it is a correct approach but the ending was a little anticlimactic for my… More
  The German counterpart of "The exorcism of Emily Rose" but with more emphasis on the family and the human drama. told with lack of grandeur and ostentation, which is not ultimately too impressive, it is a correct approach but the ending was a little anticlimactic for my taste. Sandra Hüller's performance is by far the best of all.

• Drew S

  
  Requiem is an odd little movie. It's a subversive, tiny attack on basically everything - conservative idealism, the medical system, religion. The movie is angry, but it can't decide what to be angry at. And spearheading all of this rage is mousy, disheveled Michaela. This… More
  Requiem is an odd little movie. It's a subversive, tiny attack on basically everything - conservative idealism, the medical system, religion. The movie is angry, but it can't decide what to be angry at. And spearheading all of this rage is mousy, disheveled Michaela. This poor girl, played brilliantly by Sandra Huller, is a total mess. Everyone around her has a different opinion as to what will make her better; not even she can decide. It starts to seem like nothing can. You're bound to see where the movie's going. Michaela's fate is bleak. She's a good person, though, and you really root for her to get better, because she deserves more out of the world than what she's gotten so far. A repressive home life and a neurological disorder spell out a pretty shitty existence for your typical German girl growing up. And when she tries to make strides for herself, it all interferes. Her mother hates the fact that she's going to college; she doesn't think she's well enough. Is it genuine concern, or jealousy? Methinks there's a little of both. Her father, on the other hand, is too lax, allowing her independence that Michaela's probably not ready for yet. She does have positive support systems, in the form of Hanna and Stefan, her friend and boyfriend at the university. They don't seem to have a firm enough grip on what's wrong in Michaela's head, though. Her final options come in the form of the clergy, who think that God is the solution to everything. If there's one thing that Requiem says very clearly, it's the opposite of that - there are some situations that God cannot resolve. A heartbreaking truth.

• Gordon A

  
  Impressive evocation of drab 70's life and the clash of religion and medicine in trying to explain mental illness

• William G

  
  Huller unnerves in true-life story of German girl possibly possessed.

• Emily B

  
  An interesting film. Whilst most films dealing with exorcism focus on the more horrific details, 'Requiem' is more about the build-up and the dramas faced by the main character. The acting, especially that of the main character played by Sandra Huller, is very good.… More
  An interesting film. Whilst most films dealing with exorcism focus on the more horrific details, 'Requiem' is more about the build-up and the dramas faced by the main character. The acting, especially that of the main character played by Sandra Huller, is very good. Hans-Christian Schmid has also done a good job in allowing the viewer to form their own opinion over whether the girl was possesed or whether it was down to her illness.

• Krystle C

  
  Very minimalistic film based on the true story of a girl who died after an exorcism, which doesn't resort to the kind of flashy special effects seen in The Exorcism of Emily Rose to convey the main character's suffering. However, the movie seems to be rather murky in its… More
  Very minimalistic film based on the true story of a girl who died after an exorcism, which doesn't resort to the kind of flashy special effects seen in The Exorcism of Emily Rose to convey the main character's suffering. However, the movie seems to be rather murky in its ideals, and although it seems to be criticizing an increasingly secular society through the characters of Hannah and the priest and through Michaela herself, it's rather unclear on that front. Perhaps it's a statement of how confused Germany's spirituality has become, but it didn't speak clearly to me. The acting is quite good, especially from the main actress, but I found the movie a bit too distant to be compelling. Interesting watch though.

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