Requiem

If you’re expecting a horror, you can forget it right now. This is pure psychology. Since the beginning it is apparent that the medialized story of Anneliese Michel was adapted by the creators who are rational and have some common sense. The film is not as effective and certainly not as shocking as typical of American versions. Rather it digs really deep into the psychology of Michaela herself, portrayed really well by Sandra Hüller, and the family itself. In the end I had a feeling I am not surprised at all why the case ended up the way it did. If I should choose whether to believe the more spiritual and commercialized truth or concentrate on the psychological aspect of things, I would certainly choose the psychological and immediately drive a nail to the mahogany coffin of the German church of the time. Just another proof that orthodox Christianity can make your life the same living hell as orthodox Islam. (09/01/2018)

Several years ago, I saw the American version of Anneliese Michel's story, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, from 2005, and if I were to compare the two films, each looks at the issue of exorcism from a different perspective. As a person who is mainly addicted to American productions and strongly audiovisual films, I liked the 2005 film better. Requiem focuses more on the inner development of the main character, what was interesting to some extent, only I think it laced any significant plot build-up. In short, an unassuming and modest film that benefits especially from the premise and performance of Sandra Hüller. (22/12/2014)