Underneath the harshness and the severity there is a thick, spongey layer of pure Hollywood schmaltz, and the movie runs on predictable lines.
Comment
10/18/08
Four Minutes (2007)
75
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:24
Fresh:18
Rotten:6
Average Rating:6.5/10
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.
Theatrical Release:07-03-2008
Synopsis: This German drama from director Chris Kraus explores the intense relationship between a female prisoner and an older woman. A piano teacher, who is the older of the two, connects with the younger... [More]
Reviews for Four Minutes
Top CriticThe acting is excellent.
04/28/08
Top CriticEngaging and frequently surprising German drama with a sharply written script and compelling performances from its two leads.
03/06/08
Potent tale...one of the ten best films released in 2008
02/27/09
Credit goes to writer-director Chris Kraus and his remarkable leads for making any such complaints about the story's familiar nature moot.
12/29/08
Bleibtreu and Herzsprung embody their characters with such vicious monstrousity that it's hard to forget that they're merely actors.
05/02/08
Psychological insights and powerhouse performances combine to form a consistently engaging narrative.
04/30/08
So relentlessly oppressive it suffocates its potentially strong themes and characterizations.
04/25/08
Top Critic... [filled] with minor mysteries and compelling characters.
04/24/08
One of the most exciting German movies since Run, Lola, Run
04/24/08
There are the odd few tender moments, but they are only brief interludes between more sturm und drang.
04/21/08
a genuine tour de force of inventive expression
04/19/08
A stirringly scored, refreshingly unsentimental drama.
04/18/08
It's part Jerry Lee Lewis and part Glenn Gould.
04/18/08
A women-behind-bars plot seething with lesbianism, incest, hanging and catfights -- on paper, at least, Four Minutes promises more fun than a Roger Corman marathon.
04/18/08
Top CriticPitched at deafening hysteria, Chris Kraus’s film might have fared better in moderato.
04/17/08
Though not to be confused with Madonna's new single, Four Minutes is similarly built from cliché.
04/16/08
Four Minutes is simply not to be missed.
04/16/08
Although the tone of the film drifts precariously toward the self-serious, writer/director Chris Kraus redeems himself with snatches of dark jailhouse humor and a quiet attentiveness to minute gradations of human feeling.
04/16/08
Through the despair and stormy interactions of the two main characters, we scrape beneath their crusty exterior surfaces and get a glimpse at the hurt and hopefulness within.
12/21/07
Latest News for Four Minutes
April 13, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review 
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