A Low Life Mythology

International students at film school in Berlin (and possibly London) live, love and learn. Much of the runtime is filled with student films, and the overall feeling is of a draft dissertation, as if rather than a coherent story we are seeing a rough cut prior to editing.

The story revolves around a Japanese student with visa and cash flow difficulties, but none of the characters are particularly likeable so I found it hard to invest in them. The story opens with a perfunctory sex act offscreen, followed by a relationship breakdown, then has a disjointed, episodic trajectory until a second, more relatable sexual encounter signals a change in direction for two characters and an eventual (vaguely) happy ending.

It is not difficult to watch, but occasionally feels like background music - surely something more interesting is happening somewhere in this multinational group?