Salon by Andrew O'Hehir

Austrian director Spielmann has long awaited discovery by a wider world, and for my money the gorgeous, brooding, unpredictable neo-noir Revanche is one of the year's best films.

San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle

An extraordinary film, mythic in feeling.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Stephen Cole

A little bit of "Crime and Punishment" and a whole lot of "The Postman Always Rings Twice," Revanche, the Austrian candidate for last year's Best Foreign Language Film, is a surprisingly unruffled tale of love, thievery, murder and revenge.

Portland Oregonian by Stan Hall

The film continually explores surprising, rewarding territory; even an erotically charged subplot dovetails nicely with themes of vengeance, mortality and renewal.

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

A darkly compelling film from Austria, can be viewed as either a thriller with psychological overtones or a psychological drama with thriller elements.

Film Threat by Eric Campos

From the film's opening moments you won't be able to guess where the whole thing ultimately ends up and that's one of the many endearing qualities of Revanche.

Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan

Spielmann doesn't move his camera much, but he doesn't have to. The uniformly crackerjack cast keeps things electric, yet always believable, even when behaving in ways that are shocking.

Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten

Spielmann’s deft storytelling is coupled with immaculate compositions that constrain the characters as confidently as any prison bars. Revanche reveals Spielmann as a true master of his craft.

Boston Globe by Wesley Morris

Revanche was a foreign-language Oscar nominee this year, and it's a better movie than most of the films in the main race. The word "revanche" means "revenge" in German, but "waiting" would have been just as good.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

Revanche involves a rare coming together of a male's criminal nature and a female's deep needs, entwined with a first-rate thriller. It is also perceptive in observing characters, including a proud old man. Rare is the thriller that is more about the reasons of people instead of the needs of the plot.

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

Revanche is, first and foremost, a good story, craftily told.

Village Voice

Revanche gets its hooks into you early and leaves them there.

Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern

Mr. Spielmann's film is full of surprises and, in its distinctive way, full of life.

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

The coincidences might be too much for some, but viewers who can get past them will be treated to a suspenseful, well-acted, crisply photographed character study.

Variety

In what's essentially a six-hander, the casting is aces. All actors turn in fine, naturalistic perfs, but it would be remiss not to remark on 83-year-old Thanheiser's profoundly moving turn as the grandfather.

The New York Times by A.O. Scott

The characters and situations are interesting enough, and the filmmaking is sufficiently skilled to provide a measure of reasonably thoughtful entertainment.

The Hollywood Reporter

Hard luck conspires with bad sex in this unspectacular Austrian tale of crime and punishment.