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Four Minutes

Play trailer Poster for Four Minutes 2008 1h 52m Drama Music Play Trailer Watchlist
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77% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
An elderly woman teaches piano to a young convict in a women's prison to transform her rage.
Four Minutes

What to Know

Critics Consensus

This riveting German drama set in a women's prison has the strong foundation of a solid script and psychologically resonant performances across the board.

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Critics Reviews

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Peter Bradshaw Guardian 10/18/2008
2/5
Underneath the harshness and the severity there is a thick, spongey layer of pure Hollywood schmaltz, and the movie runs on predictable lines. Go to Full Review
Helen O'Hara Empire Magazine 04/28/2008
3/5
The acting is excellent. Go to Full Review
Gary Goldstein Los Angeles Times 04/25/2008
2.5/5
So relentlessly oppressive it suffocates its potentially strong themes and characterizations. Go to Full Review
Carlos Bonfil La Jornada 12/21/2020
German cinema has pressed upon the themes of redemption and guilt, both on a personal and collective level... [Four Minutes] is a discreet and at the same time eloquent piece of that necessary historical review. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
David Lamble Bay Area Reporter 05/21/2020
It's an erotically chaste but violently charged drama... Go to Full Review
Fr. Chris Carpenter Orange County and Long Beach Blade 02/27/2009
A-
Potent tale...one of the ten best films released in 2008 Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Frans G 05/28/2024 An elderly piano teacher in a detention center tries to tame an exploding young prisoner with an exceptional musical gift and harness it to her advantage: winning a famous competition. Fascinating leading roles who move within an unhealthy prison culture. What I'm missing is psychological depth. The rigid pre-war unsympathetic character of the piano teacher could have been better replaced by someone with attention and feeling for the rightly rebellious girl. Together with a more robust prison director, this could have resulted in a better film. See more Peter G 01/14/2024 The familiar story of a teacher‘s relationship with a gifted pupil is given an interesting treatment which plays its premise through with more complexity than some critics have acknowledged, IMO. This is thanks to the remarkable characterizations enacted by 2 extraordinary actresses, Hannah Herzsprung & the late Monica Bleibtreu. How the story plays out is in some ways what one might expect from a film of this nature & yet the realism shown in the situation itself gives the situation an added element of credibility. These two characters, the piano student & the teacher who attempts to re-waken the latent talent in her pupil, become continually more affecting & absorbing & compensate for the few flaws in the stories details. Musical purists beware! The treatment of the Schumann piano concert may arise more than a few eyebrows. This is a German film with English subtitles & well worth seeing for the two actresses alone. See more 06/13/2022 Excelente drama alemão, vários temas polêmicos interligados, nazismo, amores homoafetivo, assassinatos, presídio feminino, culpa, rejeição, bullying num aglomerado cenário de dores e agressão, mas um belo exemplo de perdão e superação.... Os alemães souberam emocionar, mesmo se utilizando da frieza que lhe és peculiar, excelente produção... See more 02/12/2022 I loved the movie. Very realistic characters and great plot. Hidden gem and well worth seeing See more tony h 01/30/2022 Well worth the effort! See more 01/19/2022 Loved it! I started watching equipped with only a short description of what the film was about and was riveted for the duration. Superb acting. Characters flawed and believable. This film will stay with me. I will watch it again. See more Read all reviews
Four Minutes

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Movie Info

Synopsis An elderly woman teaches piano to a young convict in a women's prison to transform her rage.
Director
Chris Kraus
Screenwriter
Chris Kraus
Production Co
Südwestrundfunk (SWR), Arte, Kordes & Kordes Film GmbH, Bayerischer Rundfunk
Genre
Drama, Music
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 12, 2008, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Oct 7, 2008
Runtime
1h 52m