Trama

After Sam, a penniless Afro-German singer, discovers he's HIV-positive, he gets utterly drunk, spends a few miserable days, then promptly falls (back) in love. Amidst a crumbling former East Berlin (its buildings, cars, people, and culture), Sam develops a "family" for the new millennium, for the new generation of post-drug-cocktail AIDS victims. The fragile "family" he forms includes his on-again/off-again boyfriend Rainer and his best friend Bastl with his latest fling Mike. Like the old, schmaltzy East German songs which Sam is recording, the sweet innocence of the characters struggles to prevail, the characters' misfortunes notwithstanding.—GMeleJr

In a touching tale set in the intoxicating underground of contemporary East Berlin, Afro-German Sam lives in a crumbling, once-grand apartment. Here, time blissfully ceases to exist, news of a photo sold and an ex-lover dead are equal reasons to celebrate, and a trip to the seashore seems the natural solution to all of life's looming problems. Like the schmaltzy old East German love songs that Sam is recording for his new CD, Sam and his friends rise to the top in spite of various misfortunes, not the least of which is HIV/AIDS. Careers stagnate, savings evaporate, and tragedy strikes, but somehow their lives are still victorious.—Guy33134