Themes: College Life, Demonic Possession, Members of the Clergy
Main Cast: Sandra Hueller, Burghart Klaußner, Imogen Kogge, Karl Klinger, Friederike Adolph
Release Year: 2006
Country: DE
Run Time: 92 minutes
Plot
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. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Cast
Sandra Hueller - Michaela Klinger
Burghart Klaußner
Imogen Kogge
Karl Klinger
Friederike Adolph
Anna Blomeier - Hanna; Nicholas Reinke - Stefan; Jens Harzer - Pastor Borchert; Walter Schmidinger - Father Landauer; Irene Kugler; Johann Adam Oest; Eva Löbau
Credit
Fabrizio Nicora - Art Director, Simone Baer - Casting, Bettina Marx - Costume Designer, Christopher Doll - First Assistant Director, Hans-Christian Schmid - Director, Hansjoerg Weissbrich - Editor, Bernd Schlegel - Editor, Hansjög Weflbrich - Editor, Uli Putz - Executive Producer, Anja C. Klement - Line Producer, Cinesong - Musical Direction/Supervision, Milena Fessmann - Musical Direction/Supervision, Monika Münnich - Makeup, Nadine Schränkler - Makeup, Christian M. Goldbeck - Production Designer, Eva Maria Stiebler - Production Designer, Bogumil Godfrejow - Cinematographer, Katja Siegel - Production Manager, Hans-Christian Schmid - Producer, Martin Steyer - Sound Mixer, Marc Parisotto - Sound/Sound Designer, Nina Kingen - Unit Production Manager, Manuel Kreuzpaintner - Unit Production Manager, Bernd Lange - Screenwriter, Fabian Rösler - Gaffer, Britta Knoller - Post Production Supervisor, Grit Krnoacher - Properties, David Hoffman - Properties, Kerstin Faude - Script Supervisor, Ingrid Bauer - Costume/Wardrobe, Carina Wier - Costume/Wardrobe, Freiedenke Jehn - Second Unit Assistant Director, Caroline Schumacher - Set Decorator, Lutz Lemke - Title Design, Sibylle Baier - Title Design
Requiem (2006) is a German language film by Hans-Christian Schmid starring Sandra Hüller. Hüller received a Silver Bear award in 2006 in Berlin for Best Actress for her portrait of a possessed woman, Michaela Klingler.
The film steers clear of special effects or dramatic music and instead presents documentary style filmmaking, which focuses on Michaela’s struggle to lead a normal life, trapped in a limbo which could either represent demonic possession or mental illness, focusing on the latter.
