Sommersturm

Sommersturm (Summer Storm) is about Tobi and Achim who have been best friends for years. As cox and oarsman, they have helped their team win several rowing cups in the past and are now looking forward to the big regatta in the countryside. But this trip is no summer camp, and the problems soon arise. As Achim's relationship with his girlfriend grows more serious, Tobi starts to realise that his feelings for Achim run deeper than he's willing to admit to himself. He feels confused, unsure of himself and increasingly left out. When the much-anticipated Berlin girls' team is being replaced by a team of athletic,young gay men, Tobi and his teammates are suddenly forced to grapple with their prejudices, fears and perhaps their hidden longings. As the tension grows, Tobi, Achim and the others head towards a confrontation as fierce and ultimately as liberating as the summer storm gathering over the lake...

"Summer Storm" is an emotionally mature and honest film which deals with the issue of coming out with humour, sensitivity and understanding. The performances are excellent, with the actors and actresses tending to underplay emotions rather than hamfisting them home, which tends to happen in American teen dramas. The performance by the award winning Robert Stadlober (Best Leading Actor at the Montreal Film Festival, 2001) was particularly standout. All characters are identifiable and likable, and although some characters verge on the cliché, clichés are clichés because they originated in truth.

Director, Marco Kreuzpaintner and cinematographer Daniel Gottschalk make the landscape lush, tranquil, yet with a strong sense of isolation, loneliness and foreboding. Visual metaphors are seamlessly woven into the films narrative without becoming too cliché or distracting.

The film is un-hyperbolic in its treatment of the familiar themes of coming of age, the search for identity, friendship and sexuality (both homosexuality and heterosexuality). Sommersturm is a beautiful, moving and honest film.

Strange film grace of his original beauty. The essence is self-discover of a teenager but, not his obsessive love for his friend, the ambiguity of feelings, the moral end or the fight with himself, the contact with the "others" are important . The essence is the splendid art to tell, in honest way, with delicate images and ordinary scenes the evolution of a crisis, the gestures of a age, the love as miracle, the fixation and desire of an outsider for who his self-image and the opinion of friends is the fundamental punishment.

To be yourself like horrible sin.

It is not a original story but this film is great for the subtle science to discover, without pity, compassion or masks a real slice of existence.

The love for an Achim or the desire for be normal in a homophobic society are not only artistic themes and the message of film is, in fact, to be a model to self definition, a subject to meditation, a point to search of truth against others, against yourself.

Only, the commercial happy-end. The shadows are not a so short life. But, the intentions , the honesty of work, the game with lights and the good interpretation are more important.

today "sommersturm" is coming out on DVD in Germany, i already ordered it on amazon.de and have been in cinema two times. the movie is about a 18year-old boy who begins to feel for his best friend, who is already having a relationship to a girl. they are all in a boat team and go for a championship (the filming locations are in my town so its cool to see). in the camp the feelings of the actors are "coming out". before seeing it i could not imagine that this movie would feel so real an touch so much. but it is the working of the great actors, a beautiful soundtrack, very good camera and s strong story. the camera work supports the story in so many ways, the picture you see tells so much. but the movie is not only touching, its also extremely funny, but not in the way that its make fun of gay people, its understanding so its still touching. i cant wait to see this movie again. sad that only a few saw it, believe me, its one of the funniest, most touching and best filmed German movies. nothing else than 10/10

Tobi, a teenager in a rowing team, is about to discover his latent homosexuality and his love for his close friend Achim, during a rowing contest, under the catalytic presence of a gay rowing group from Berlin.

Although the film borrows many plot elements from movies like "Was nutzt die Liebe in Gedanken" and "Krampack" (i.e. boy loves boy who loves girls) it copes with creating an exceptional coming-out film composition. The admixtures of German eastern and southern dialects and accents, the comic characters like the coach, the simple humorous stereotypes resulting from clueless-Oberbayern meeting Gay-Berlin and finally the summer storm of sexual consciousness forcing Tobi and the groups of teenagers to seek new balances, create a unique and simple German version of these topics.

As remarks could be mentioned that too much of accents is not as funny for us foreigners, the end is relatively open and the main character depicts sometimes too selfish and ignorant.

Film is Excellent - 10 of 10.

I have seen many German films already, but this one beats them all! It's beautiful, it's sad, it's funny, it's tragic, it's warm, sunny and lovely. Just wonderful and a pleasure to watch.

The plot can be told very quickly: Tobi and Achim live in a Bavarian village, are the best of friends and also together in a rowing team. But Tobi has a secret: He is in love with Achim, doesn't dare to tell him of course and is jealous of Sandra, Achim's girlfriend. When Tobi, Achim and their team travel to a competition (which at the same time is a camp) and meet a gay rowing team there, the emotions boil over and soon Tobi has to face the truth and find out who he is.

To sum it up: This film is a masterpiece and in my opinion should be officially one of the best films of all times. It is filmed in a very quiet way, with calm shots of nature, of teenagers, their dreams, fears and emotions, but also their conflicts. It takes teenagers seriously without being too serious and deals with homosexuality, coming out and coming of age without drowning in clichés. Plus it has some hilarious comic situations and great one liners in it. One could say: The movie shows pure life, for life is sometimes fun, sometimes tragic, sometimes beautiful and sometimes hard. Also everyone, from the protagonists to minor characters is casted perfectly and you have some of the most talented young German actors of our time here: Robert Stadlober, Marlon Kittel, and Hanno Koffler. "Sommersturm" – a terrific piece of art that you can't help falling in love with.