Jonathan

And here's another movie that comes from Germany and looks like a TV production. I admit that I'm already annoyed when it's thematically about freedom and you immediately see a bird circling in the sky. The obligatory cheap guitar music is missing because there was no money for an orchestra. André Hennicke plays a sick man, the father of Jonathan (Jannis Niewöhner). The two have a complicated relationship, which is immediately clear. Then Anka appears, a young nurse who has everything that such women don't actually have. But of course, she is an actress and looks like one - as do all the actors in this movie. Yes, I'm complaining about more realism and less film school here, because everything reeks of formalism and is also quite homophobic in its basic mood, despite being from 2016. The pace is tiring and the landscape shots don't interest me at all. If I want to watch flies fly, I open the window. Jannis Niewöhner hasn't done his career any favors here and certainly won't really point to his role as the highlight of his career.

There was a gay themed American movie dealing with terminal cancer, but in that movie, there wasn't the overwhelming sadness of dealing with the death of a loved one. Instead, death was portrayed as natural and almost besides the point. Here the audience is slammed repeatedly with the dire consequences of being mortal and getting terminal skin cancer. The gay subplot and dark family secrets become almost irrelevant. The scene where the central, dying character had one final orgasm with his long absent partner in a hospital bed seemed totally contrived and unreal. The writer seemed to be saying that sex and love are the same. To equate those two subjects close to the moment of agonizing death seemed vulgar. Acting and production values were good; hence the 6 rating.

Watching the film I was very confused for a long time why this was running in the Teddy section of the Berlinale. The closest the first half hour came to the theme was to display a borderline incestuous relationship between the father and his son. But then again, Jonathan also looked at nudes of his mother and threw himself on top of his aunt, so that's that. The acting was beneath contempt - stiff and wooden. Not for a second did I believe any of the characters to be real, throughout the film I could see the actors attempting to act. The lines were the biggest problem - both the script in itself as well as the delivery of it. It felt so artificial I couldn't help but laugh at certain scenes that were intended to be touching. The film is named after the "main character", yet he is the least thought out character of them all and therefore the least interesting.

When I see a review with the words "boring" and "slow" I think these are people who don't see the beauty and heartbreak of great storytelling. The setting, the cinematography and everything visually is so beautiful to watch as the story unfolds. That's what someone watching the film should enjoy, giving life to all your senses. The performances are so superb that it's easy to just be in moments and the storyline doesn't feel forced, it feels authentic. The last 30 minutes of the film pulls everything together in an emotional climax that is impactful and the final scene is just a brilliant way to end the emotional journey. This is what independent film making should be.

Slow moving, beautiful and touching. It may not be for everyone, but I enjoyed this film.