Summer in Berlin. Jonas is planning a trip
through the little known area of the
Uckermark in preparation for a photography
project. He invites his best friend,
Phillip, to come along. They haven''t met
since the time they spent together in
London. So they pack up their Mercedes
camper and take off across uncharted
territory, stopping whenever they see
something they like, taking pictures and
generally enjoying a laid-back road trip.
The fact that Phillip is gay has never been
an issue for either of them. When they pick
up a hitchhiker named Boris, however, who
shows Jonas some interesting spots and
starts to make moves on Phillip, the
friendship of the two starts to fray. Maybe
three''s a crowd after all? By the end of the
summer, things between Jonas and Phillip
won''t ever be the same again.
Sort of gay road trip with a fair bit of
nudity
6 May 2016 | by Tom Dooley (London,United
Kingdom)
The synopsis of this short indie film is
that Jonas, who is German and straight, has
invited his British and gay mate Philip for
a camping trip. This is ostensibly so Jonas
can carry out a photography project. They
head off in an old VW camper and Phil sort
of finds any excuse to get his kit off.
Then they run into Boris who is a friend of
Jonas'' and he tags along. At first the
chemistry of all three is thrown out by the
new arrival but then Phil and Boris start to
get along a bit too well and all bets are
off.
Now as I said this is a fairly short film at
79 minutes and a lot of that time not very
much happens, but that may be the point. It
could be seen as a slow build up I suppose
but it does not translate very well. There
is some chemistry but it takes a while to
rear its head. And despite a lot of nude
bits being shown there is no real bedroom
action either. In German and English too
with good sub titles; this is a film for
those who like their stories to be fairly
simple and take their time getting there. I
am still in two minds as to whether I really
liked it so am giving the benefit of the
doubt. However, this is one of those films I
would not want to watch twice – so maybe try
a rental option.
MQFF REVIEW: You & I (2014, Dir. Nils
Bökamp)
This whole post-gay thing is super
confusing. What do we do now that being gay
isn’t the be all and end all? What do we do
now that we are allowed to have straight
male friends and be affectionate with them?
What’s more, where is all the angsty queer
drama going to come from? Take this case
study: good-looking German feature You & I.
The “I” here is hot German photographer,
Jonas (Eric Klotzsch); sexuality straight.
The “You” is hotter English,
German-speaking, laughter loving, nudity
preferring, ex-housemate, Philip (George
Taylor); sexuality gay.
The two reunite in Jonas’ Mercedes campervan
for a leisurely road trip through the
rolling hills of the Uckermark. Sounds like
every second queer film, no? Throw it in
between Harvest (MQFF 2012) and Summer Storm
(MQFF 2005); it’s even got the obligatory
shirtless pontoon sunbathing scene.
There is one small issue though. Sexual
tension: nil. Dramatic tension: nil. Turns
out well-adjusted cross-sexuality
friendships don’t make for edge of your seat
cinema. Yet, You & I isn’t so easily
dismissed. The film’s first act may be a
little limp but director Nils Bökamp imbues
the young men’s reconnection with enough
energy to maintain attention.
Klotzsch and Taylor give engaging
performances, cut through with the kind of
faux-vérité freshness that warrants the
low-key narrative flow. Taylor’s smile has a
cheekiness reminiscent of Michael
Fassbender, and Bökamp’s laissez faire
direction gives him space to flash it openly
and often.
And that’s not all that’s flashed; the
nudity counter is off the chart – they’re
super comfortable with each other, y’know.
All this, and it has to be said, the
luscious scenery is extremely well treated
by cinematographer, Alexander Fuchs. The
point being, You & I is far from a difficult
watch.
Then… enter Boris (Michal Grabowski)… we’ll
call him the “&”. Hot, Polish, straggly
haired, backpackerly, homophobic; sexuality
unlabelled. He brings the tension with him,
dramatic and sexual.
Bökamp’s approach to the material remains
impressionistic but the insertion of Boris’
bristling Eastern European values brings a
spark that sets the slow burn to a smoulder.
It turns out just a hint of traditional
pre-post-gay angst is enough to tip this new
frontier bro-triangle into strangely
endearing territory. Endearing, affecting
and gently pulsing with erratic chemistry.
You & I may be a gear change for some but
will reward those willing to take it down a
notch and embrace its ambiguity. It’s a film
riding the zeitgeist (it’s German, it fits)
and may well provide some invaluable
pointers in this brave new world of gay
straight relations: Turn your bromance into
romance… or something like that.
- Michael Scott
