Im Juli

This sunny German film was a complete surprise. In fact, it's one of the best things that we have seen from that country in a while, which proves that when a talent like Mr. Akin is at the helm, one must rush to see whatever he decides to present for us.

In fact, the beginning of the film is kind of disorienting. We are thinking one way, and suddenly we are taken back to another time and another situation involving Daniel. We saw him in the lonely road where Isa happens to be taking on his way home to Turkey. Right after he has been left behind, we meet him again in different circumstances as he is teaching math to a group of inattentive students who are preparing for their summer vacations.

Daniel, after meeting Juli, buys a Mayan sun ring that she promises will let him meet a woman who will have a ring to match his, that same night, and that woman will be his true love. When sees the lovely and exotic Melek, who is wearing a tee shirt with what appears to be another Mayan sun, he believes the prophesy has come true. Melek, who is traveling to Turkey tells him about how she is going to wait under a bridge for the man who is destined for her. Daniel is so taken with this beautiful creature that he decides to follow her all the way to Istanbul. The only problem is that in taking to the road, Daniel discovers himself and gets to meet his true love at the end.

The film is made more enjoyable by Mortiz Bleibtreu's work in it. This young actor has a face that registers all the emotions running through him at the time. He makes the movie work because of his intelligent approach to the role. Equally charismatic is Christiana Paul, who plays Juli. Lovely Idil Uner is seen as Melek and Mehmet Kurtulus is Isa and Branke Katic plays Luna.

The film is a road movie that shows some beautiful European countryside and byways as the trip progresses from Germany to its end in Istanbul. Mr. Akin has directed with great panache as he involves us, the viewers, into this fun trip.

I´ve seen this movie yesterday on its opening day. I loved it! Moritz Bleibtreu (one of my favorite german actors) plays Daniel, a young secondary school teacher in Hamburg. A young girl called Juli (Christiane Paul) falls in love with him. She tries to give him a sign, but he don´t recognize it. On the same day, he meets a young turkish girl called Melek (magic:Idil Üner), who is on the way to Istanbul. Daniel falls in love with her. He wants to follow and see her again. But as he leaves Hamburg with his car, he picks up Juli as a hitchiker. A chaotic trip through southern Europe begins...

A romantic road movie with young and talented actors. Watch it!!!

It's almost a miracle: This German film tries to seduce its viewers, and it succeeds! It tells the rather simple story of a young, intelligent man (Moritz Bleibtreu) who doesn't realize that the woman of his dreams (a dread-locked Christiane Paul) is right next to him. Instead he takes on an odyssey from Hamburg, Germany, to Istanbul, Turkey, crossing foreign and often enough hostile grounds (Bavaria, Austria, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria) to get there in time. Right from the beginning the film feels trustworthy - and it gets better all the time. The film is funny, romantic, yet always on the brink of being melodramatic with a glimpse of tragedy here and there. It's an irresistible combination that Germans almost never achieve. (And maybe they wouldn't have done it even with this script - director Fatih Akin is from Turkey!) Bleibtreu, who had a wonderful bit-part as a dumb, tarantinesque killer in "Knockin' on Heaven's door" is very appealing here, but it is the tall and beautiful Christiane Paul (from "Das Leben ist eine Baustelle"/Life is under construction), who delivers the emotional knockout punches. She's plain and simple gorgeous, a revelation to those of haven't had the pleasure of seeing her so far.

I saw the very surprising "In July (Im Juli)" at our International Film Festival last fall and was stunned by how good and how funny it was. "German romantic comedy" sounded like an oxymoron, but others who had seen it urged me to give it a try. Wow!

This film was a marvel as a piece of entertainment. It's tight, fast, funny, surprising, and charming. Part romantic comedy and part road picture, the story is full of twists and delights as it takes you on a ride across Europe, switching languages as we go - German, English, Bulgarian, Turkish. The look of the film is great, with dynamic camera work and beautifully framed scenes. The editing and pace are wonderful, and the music choices are ideal. Acting by both stars couldn't be better for the story, as they are charming, touching, and funny. The story itself will keep you guessing and then wrap-up with an end that's both satisfying and refreshing. Who would have thought a German film could have such lightness and playfulness? This is strictly an entertainment film; it's not deep or significant - the usual German film forte. But the film is a whole lot of fun. The audiences here at the film festival loved it and it was a near-miss for audience favorite (right behind another more serious German film), but this is quite an achievement for a film that's just light entertainment.

Hopefully, this film will find greater distribution, and encourage it's filmmakers to make more movies. Right now, I know of no plans for wider distribution of this terrific gem. I hope that changes soon. Distributors?

What I found special about the "Im Juli" is that, although the story feels like a fantasy, the characters are very warm and real. All those meetings and coincidences looked a little unbelievable first time, but now I think everything makes sense if we see the story as an allegory…meaningful but at the same time light and funny.

The playfulness of the script might perhaps make some miss the message of the movie, but the message actually is there and is a strong one. As I see it, "Im Juli" is a story about hope and about finding life and happiness. Searching for the one meant for you in furthest places to realise that what you've been searching for was right next to you all along.

I liked the idea of the first part of the movie being a flashback until we get back to the sun eclipse we had seen at the beginning. After the sun comes out again it looks like dark gets out of Daniel's mind and the sun shows him the right way this time: that Juli was the one he had been searching all along. The whole journey changes Daniel incredibly much as with her sun amulet, Juli learns him to do the same as her: trust faith and go on searching for happiness. The ending was really perfect: all the 4 characters' roads coming together and Daniel finally seeing the ultimate proof that he had found what he was looking for.

What I enjoyed about the movie is that although the message is a serious one, the story is so light and everything goes on really fast and surprising. The whole journey through so many different countries and passing beside so many different people and cultures was really interesting and refreshing, as were all the characters in the movie. All the actors, playing the Turkish guy, Luna or the officer at the Romanian border, looked they were really enjoying their roles and brought most of the movie's humour: great, subtle and nothing Hollywood like.

All in all, I thought it was a really enjoyable movie, so different from the usual productions we get from Hollywood. Really a movie you shouldn't miss!