Summer Storm

First of all, it's incredible that a movie about a summer camp would come out that has a group of teenagers acting like REAL teens, not the idiots you see either in gross-out summer comedies based solely on bathroom and bodily-fluid humor, or with a dozen or more skeevy slackers getting high, getting laid and then getting hacked to bits by some guy in a mask bought from Chammps Sporting Goods.

Viewed at the same Gay Pride Film Festival here in D.C., it was a good opportunity to compare this--a little more serious coming-of-age drama, to the light and fluffy French sex romp "Cote d'Azure." Too bad something like SUMMER STORM isn't made more often here in the States.

It's summer time, and Tobi (the engaging Robert Stadlober) is in a seething state of sexual confusion. He wants to have sex with a girl, but his strongest feelings are reserved for his best bud Achim, (Kostja Ullmann), who in turn is having a hot-and-heavy romance with girlfriend Sandra (Miriam Morgenstern). Meantime, carrying the torch for Tobi is the heartbreakingly beautiful Anke (Alicja Batchleda-Curus), who has absolutely no idea where her intended's head is at. At least, not at first.

The four teens are all on rowing teams, and their coach takes them all to camp, to bond and train for the seasonal rowing trials. Among the rival teams is an all-gay team, the "Queerstrokers," who will soon prove instrumental in the awakening of Tobi, helping him realize who he is and eventually to reconcile the lopsided love triangle he is involved in, which can only produce consequences destined to bring about an unhappy ending.

Not to make the film sound too serious, but it deals with the themes of sexual confusion, exploration and discovery in a natural and non-judgmental way that is so lacking in most American features of this genre. The casting of the actors is just about perfect, as they all look, sound and perform like you would imagine German teens would, who are not that much different from any other young people their age anywhere in the world.

Even if the audience of SUMMER STORM isn't gay, it deals effectively with the kind of emotions and situations that all adults can relate to, back when they were younger, and kids who are the same age as the film's characters can identify with now.

A well-made coming-of-age tale for everyone (except for conservative prudes and pre-teens), definitely worth your time.

I had the opportunity to watch SOMMERSTURM at the Rio Movie Festival two weeks ago - with the presence of director Marco Kreuzpaintner - and everyone just loved the movie! It was a big, big success here in Rio, not only for the gay crowd but specially for the straight crowd ! It's a very funny, sexy, artistic and young (but still mature) movie, that perfectly shows the process of discovery of sexuality, with all the good and bad aspects of it. It portraits gay and straight boys and girls naturally, just as they are and the interesting (and incredibly funny) interaction between them. Robert Stadlober is in great shape acting, as well as the whole of the cast. And the soundtrack couldn't be better, both in the happy times and the sad ones!

SOMMERSTURM is the kind of movie that everyone - and I mean everyone (except for small children) - should watch, not only because it's a wonderful movie and great fun, but specially because it treats the subject of homosexuality in a natural, sensible and incredibly mature manner. For those who still have some prejudice towards different sexual orientations, it's a soft learning lesson... Congratulations to the film team!

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.

Nevermind that this is a movie about same-sex adulation. The bittersweet movie features a stellar performance by its lead Robert Stadlober as Tobi and explores his road to self-discovery and identity through his long-standing secret admiration and love for his best pal, Achim. The dilemma that Tobi faced in trying to come to terms with his own sexuality is well-handled by Stadlober.

Set against a rowing competition camp trip, the movie isn't always hardhearted but offers some comedy along the way. Some moviegoers might have complained about the stereotypical gay characters in the movie, but actually, it's quite the opposite. There is a good mix of gay characters and contrast is definitely showcased. The cinematography is also splendid.

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.