film profile], a prison drama which wowed critics and scooped multiple prizes at numerous international festivals. Buoyed by a solid story about perseverance, the movie imposed itself as a prime example of the revival of contemporary German cinema, in the same vein as Wolfgang Becker, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and Oliver Hirschbiegel.
Four Minutes was set in a women’s prison and followed in the wake of prisoner Jenny (played by acting revelation
Hannah Herzsprung). Piano teacher to the inmates Mrs Krüger (
Monica Bleibtreu) discovered the exceptional talent of this young woman and decided to prepare her for the Music Conservatory entrance exam. In the face of insults and violence, an ambiguous relationship developed between the two heroines…