Product Details

• Actors: Monica Bleibtreu, Hannah Herzsprung, Sven Pippig, Richy Müller, Stefan Kurt
• Directors: Chris Kraus
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: German
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: WOLFE VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: October 7, 2008
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001DGFGOU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,735 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Four Minutes" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Four Minutes recalls the lineage of films dedicated to marginalized characters who find solace in piano playing, such as Jane Campion’s The Piano, yet there is more to this drama than the story of a woman yearning for autonomy. Jenny (Hannah Herzsprung), a prisoner described as the type to "steal a smoke from a corpse" by another inmate, is wasting away in a German penitentiary until she is recruited by piano teacher, Traude Krüger (Monica Bleibtrau), to train for a contest coming up. Krüger, who sees Jenny’s fingers keying organ music on her church pew in Sunday mass, realizes Jenny’s innate talent and slowly heals her student through music as well as through conversations revealing their mutually difficult pasts. While Jenny’s violent outbursts continuously disrupt her piano privileges, Traude heroically defends Jenny in meetings with the hard-edged warden, Mr. Meyerbeer (Stefan Kurt). The crux of the story lies in the friendship forged between these women through Traude’s determination to heal her young prodigy. Through flashback, the viewer learns what male violence was inflicted upon each lady. Four Minutes, subtitled from German, is a bit humorless, and one doesn’t glimpse even a slight smile on any character’s face until fifty minutes of film have rolled. Jenny’s outbursts at the piano as well, such as when she plays handcuffed to defy Meyerbeer, are overwrought. Still, the lack of sentimentality inherent to each character lends a wry realism to the intelligent script, such as when Ms. Krüger tells Jenny to stop playing "negro music," exposing her antiquated, uptight musical taste. Four Minutes succeeds at illustrating a relationship in which two women cut from different cloth share commonalities that assume a female essence, though at their core they crave a universal desire for freedom. --Trinie Dalton

Product Description

For over sixty years, aged pianist Traude Krüger has been teaching piano at the women s prison. But she s never met someone like Jenny, a convicted killer beating everything around her to a pulp just to amuse herself. But Jenny used to be a great musical talent. And she still is under her impenetrable facade. She could manage to win a prestigious piano contest she is allowed to participate in despite her prison sentence. However, a contest is no challenge to someone who wants life to stand still.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid movie, March 22, 2009

By 

Happy Reader (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Four Minutes (DVD)

Not cheerful, and neither of the two main characters are particularly likeable. But, as you find out more about their past, the characters' actions are understandable. We really enjoyed it, and my daughter, who plays piano, was truly inspired by the piano in the movie. I'm not the first to write this, but the four-minute contest piece at the end is incredible. The acting is great. I'm more of a happy-ending type person, and even I have to admit this was a very good movie.
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I'm adding something to my initial review. After I reviewed this film, I noticed that my amazon.com recommendations were full of movies with a lesbian theme. This surprised me, because though one character in "Four Minutes" is lesbian, it's not a theme of the movie as we saw it. It would be too bad if you didn't watch this movie because of pigeonholing by amazon or anyone else. It's a well acted movie with two female leads, one who supresses her pain and rage, the other who lets the rage take over, and the music that brings them together. I very much recommend this movie for the raw emotion and exceptionally well-drawn characters.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super story, September 8, 2008

By 

Latour07 (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Minutes (DVD)

What a masterly film! What a shock! The viewer is taken to trippes at heart and shaken in all directions. This film is exceptional. To let be yourself more engrossed by such a film would probably be too much for the nerves, both the intensity is violent, acute, sharp.

How to succeed in giving birth to a prison friendship between two women who have nothing in common except a true passion for the piano with a lot of patience, tenacity and tolerance is btilliantly shown in this film ? What a superb story!

The viewer is not indemn from such a projection. The final "four minutes" of the film is dazzling.

It is a great film issued by the German cinema that never ceases to surprise us with happiness ( "Good-bye Lenin!" Good Bye, Lenin!, "The Lives of Others" The Lives of Others).

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting story, superbly performed, October 10, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Minutes (DVD)

Traude Kruger taught piano at a women's prison for more than sixty years. But her inmate Jenny, a convicted killer with a history of beating people for simple amusement, is unique. Once a great musical talent she could be trained to participate in and wine a prestigious piano contest -- despite her prison sentence. Traude's problem is how to inspire Jenny to act out with her music rather than her fists. "Four Minutes" is a riveting story, superbly performed, and the conclusion is truly memorable. The German with subtitles DVD format is enhanced with such bonus features as the Theatrical Trailer, a Widescreen Presentation, Dolby 2.0 Audio sound. Total Running Time: 112 minutes; full color.