I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Powerful

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This film lost me near the beginning when old Traude refuses to deal with Jenny's messy hands during the interviews with new students. I mean, Traude is supposed to be a woman who is devoted to music and who wants to help female inmates of a prison to learn piano. And she turns Jenny away because she plays "Negro music" and has filthy hands? Couldn't Chris Block, the writer and director, have come up with a more realistic reason for Jenny to bash Mutze nearly to death, thus turning him from what was initially a sympathetic character into a jailer out for revenge? The wartime lesbian subplot didn't add anything to the main plot. If anything, it seemed gratuitous. How could a woman who was daring enough to love another woman under the gaze of Nazis, come to hate "Negro Music"? These two characteristics don't seem to fit together.The other weird, if not gratuitous, inclusion was the incest subplot between Jenny and her father. Aside from Jenny's outbursts, it was handled vaguely, as it it were no more important than the refusal (or inability) of Mutze's daughter to curtsy to Traude.And the music drove me crazy. The Mozart and Schubert pieces have been played to death. Surely a couple of more interesting études out of the thousands upon thousands that have been written by hundreds of composers could have relieved the boredom of hearing these hackneyed tunes over and over for the entire length of the film.I came to this film expecting to like it, which is why I'm so bloody disgusted. But by the time the last plot contrivance was thrown at us: Jenny finding a bottle of her detested father's favourite booze at Traude's place and thus setting up a melodramatic bellowfest, not even the heralded last "vier minuten" could save it.

An elderly spinster piano teacher in a womens prison,Mrs.Kruger, takes one of the inmates,Jenny,under her wing.The teacher loves music but can't connect with people.Jenny is young and absolutely gifted,but hates playing because it brings back a personal trauma from her past.The teacher tries to teach the student about respect,whilst the student reminds the teacher what it's like to be young and emotional.There are sub plots concerning both of their respective past personal lives but basically,it is just about two characters from vastly different generations and backgrounds who form an uneasy alliance in a harsh environment,and both of them benefit from the experience.Keep a box of tissues handy because the film is an emotional roller-coaster.I have no doubt that if they remade this in Hollywood with A-list stars, (which they probably eventually will),that it would clean up at the Oscars.But I guarantee that it would not be as good as this movie.Four Minutes (Vier Minuten) is actually about 110 minutes,and pretty much every one of them is worthy.A must see movie.

The premise of this movie is great (if not super original), and the acting is outstanding. But as a whole this movie is a bit of a disappointment. I think my main problem with the film is the editing. The editor seems restless with the slow pace of the scenes and tries to speed things up by hard cutting. But this just leads to the fact that each scene ends at the very point where it starts getting interesting. The jumping back and forth between the subplot (the piano teachers love story in the past) and the main plot (the same teacher teaching a young criminal to play) is often confusing and creates distance to the viewer. The subplot also doesn't really tie in to the main plot and should probably have been left out altogether. The final scene where the girl triumphantly plays the piano would have been so much more efficient and touching if shot in just one long take, now the editor tries to compete with the girl's virtuous skills and again, it creates distance and makes the whole sequence feel fake and pompous. I still recommend this film because of the great actors and a nice story.

I can't readily find fault with this movie despite being fairly critical usually... It had me hooked within the first minute and didn't let me go throughout the movie!The characters are gritty but believable and the characterization by the two lead actresses is flawless for most of the movie. The cinematography I found to be gorgeous with a rustic and brittle edge to many of the screen shots!The slow revelation of the histories involved in the two lead women's lives shows a deeper, more tangible side to who and why they are the people they are. Some of the flashback sequences are slightly dislocating but this doesn't seriously detract from the plot. The timing of these revelations is well thought out though and we start to realize that the first question we need to ask of anyone is what their past is that has made them who they are...It challenges a good few precepts about femininity as well along the way but this is secondary to the relationship dynamics of the psychological mother-daughter relationship that is setup here.It asks some deep questions about the meaning of our relationships and our purpose in life that doesn't let go right to the end. This movie doesn't hold back from any of the capricious nature of life and the consequences that it often throws in our life paths. It also shows the failure of people to deal with this on a humanistic level... often resulting in shattered and wasted lives. The violence (both emotional and physical) depicts well the struggle people have with dealing with each others 'violations', towards each other.I'd wholeheartedly recommend you see this movie! It will have you captivated from the opening sequence of the the suicide of her cell mate that Jenny sleeps through and then awakes only to then carelessly steal the last cigarette from the dead woman's body as if this is somehow a daily occurrence to the final Four Minutes that are the summation of all that Jenny is as a human being...