Jonathan

I read the other reviews before watching the film. It was a bit slow, but it was touching. The relationship between the father and son was heartbreaking. My father died before I could get a chance to REALLY know him. This movie took me there. The countryside was gorgeous and well-shot. I only wish there was more extrapolation concerning the aunt. A decent film though.

What a heartbreaking, soul-stirring and touching masterpiece. This movie drove me to tears, literally, It's a roller coaster of feelings. a German dramatic perfection about love, closure, family secrets and forgiveness and the most beautiful thing about it is its realism, this is not your typical drama. It starts with the story of a boy living and taking care of his dying dad on their farm with his absently present aunt, yet the situation can't but escalate as an old friend comes in and the shadows of the past start to surface and truths get told. We get through the agonizing lives of this characters living at what seemed like a simple life at first, a life that's mostly built on lies causing big wounds for everyone especially Jonathan the protagonist, whom I admire a lot because, as long as these heavy secrets unfold he stood and was always there for his father, shut I won't say more I don't want to spoil the story. This movie is a mosaic about family, forgiveness, and love and if there's one thing you will learn it's that family can overcome everything and it's never too late to make things right and find love even on the bed of death plus the end is very gratifying and warming so prepare the tissues.

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.

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.

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.