Triângulo Amoroso

An extremely playful and sensitive, a very funny and very political movie. The story of a couple falling in love with the same man serves as a surface to discuss fundamental themes of our time: the biological and the ethical side of human life, the determinist way we still see our sexuality and gender, the ways in which we define our selves in a time with shifting foundations, the chance of love in a society with almost no boundaries. The extraordinary performance of the three main characters meet a style of directing that is not afraid of unconventional ideas, like for example a metaphorical dance scene in a white space by Sasha Walz in the beginning or a short scene of a sundown with funny music, which seams completely out of context, but is instantly commented with a laughter in the audience. But aside from being entertaining and intelligent, it also invokes a kind of sexual utopia: it encourages us, to see our sexuality, our love, our gender and ourselves in a more tolerant, open and free way.

This is, without a doubt, the best German movie i have seen in years.

Tom Tykwer maybe started the new German film wonder by "Run, Lola run". He loves to hate mondaine Berlin people. Here is the couple fits into all descriptions. She's the anchor of philosophy TV show. He's the owner of a contemporary art promotion business.

Not being aware of it, they meet the same man, who seduces them both. They both get ridiculous, without being aware of that either. But the passions seem real, through all broken perfection.

So we can laugh at Berlin, but does that matter? For a while perhaps, but not after leaving the theater. And maybe that's what Tom Tykwer wants.

It is obvious that Hanna and Simon, as a couple, have reached the steady state of true love, a deep true love. But it is a steady state... probably too steady. So when each other, separately, meets the handsome Adam, they re-discover passion.

It is a slow movie as we have to discover how the characters are feeling lonely without actually expressing it. Hanna and Simon are a couple but they feel lonely each other. They both meet Adam, on different circumstances, and feel attracted to him. It is true that Adam has everything for him: he is good-looking, he practices some sports, go out, have casual sex... but at the end of the day, he is still lonely. As a proof, his apartment looks like a hospital room.

This movie is about joining each other's loneliness to build a true relationship. But how does it happen? That is the interesting part.

Acting is very passable, it's just the storyline that in so many instances is just totally fairytale unbelievable. Pick one of several premises outlined in this film.. the leaps of faith to get them anywhere near believable are absolutely huge... this just ain't never gonna happen the way they're portraying it. This really has the style feel of a Hollywood version of the storyline.. but made in Germany. Watched it once a while back, recently viewed again.. feel exactly the same. You like the idea.. it's just the reality that's making little sense. So should you just want to throw logic and common sense out the window, then this movie will get you there.

Tom Tykwer has come of age as a director with this film, and has dropped his sparkling visual flair in favor of straightforward yet sophisticated storytelling. His camera and editing are spot-on yet smart, as he carefully weaves a layered tale of two lost adults who rediscover and remake themselves through their relationship with another man.

His nuanced trio of characters deliberately play against gender types: Simon, the husband, is passive, quiet, artistic, and metaphorically female; Hanna, the wife, is assertive, successful, opinionated, and symbolically male; Adam, their paramour, a fertilization specialist who "brings life" to their dull routine, has both male and female sides.

The way their lives intertwine is both surprising and entertaining, and Tykwer not only explores their raw cores of emotional and physical need, but deftly and expertly exposes the humor in Hanna and Simon's awkward fumbling for new purpose.

What Woody Allen does for New York, Tykwer does for Berlin, showcasing the city as a vibrant center of art, culture, and yes, sexuality, filled with creative inhabitants who have gone there to remake themselves.

His intermittent visual collages of the character's lives inject new vitality to the stale montages we've all seen a million times; it's not that the screen has never been subdivided this way before, but that Tykwer's method of visual construction is meticulous and succinct -- like every frame of this film.

The result is an engaging, truthful, and non-traditional romance that leaves you feeling hopeful that love can tear down our seemingly permanent walls; yet another reason to set it in Berlin!

Highly recommended.