Silent Youth

This is described by the synopsis as two young men in Berlin who think they are never going to meet that 'special one', suddenly brushing hands on the street and then finding that love can blossom in the strangest of places. One is Marlo who has just moved in with a girlfriend who does not know he is gay. The other is Kirill who has just returned from a less than successful visit to Moscow – and has some issues.

This starts off very well but then it becomes clear pretty fast that Kirill has behavioural and or mental health issues and Marlo – to his credit – bears with it. I think this is supposed to be about finding love despite the differences and the fragile nature that some of us become. However, there were so many long drawn out shots where very little happens. This includes walking, sitting, eating or just doing bugger all really. I just wanted something to happen. There are no bedroom 'goings on' here either – in case you were wondering. I have seen more action in a detergent commercial to be honest.

Also this is only 73 minutes in length and did feel longer. I appreciate a 'lyrical' delivery of a story but there has to be some 'poetry' to keep it afloat and I felt that too was lacking. There was a German film out a few years ago called 'Harvest' and I felt that too was lacking, but a lot of people really liked it. If you found that one good then you may well find something here too; if however you preferred German offerings like 'Freefall', 'Balls', or even the excellent 'Sumerstorm', then this will probably not be for you.

Almost Ingmar Bergman like. Excellently nuanced performances from the two main characters. I really want to try and figure out why they were so attracted to each other because the dialogue doesn't explain it. What you have are two young guys who seem so lost, they really don't know who they themselves are? Life is so much like this for many of us, and the reviewers who said they didn't get it probably just can't understand what this kind of attraction really feels like. I watched it two times.

One criteria for an enjoyable movie is LIKABLE characters, of which this flick has ONE. Additonally, something must happen between the principal characters to interest the viewer, which doesn't transpire here. It's about as interesting as Andy Warhol's "Sleep!"

I found this movie to be hypnotic and strangely poetic. It's billed as a "coming out" story, or a gay "teen love" story, and it's definitely each of those things, in its own way, but as some descriptions have put it, the movie is actually about awkwardness, alienation, yearning, and ultimately, connection. There is very little action in this film, and even less dialogue. Most of the story is told by implication and through long periods of silence. Many may find this to be frustrating, and I can understand why. This isn't a movie that sets up a premise and then goes through the standard motions of reaching it's conclusion. Like a poem, everything is compressed into a kind of minimalist quality. If you go into this without any expectations, I suspect you'll be pleasantly surprised by the actual underlying story this movie tells. This isn't a standard presentation of a standard story, and I found myself amazed at the tenderness and vulnerability expressed by the two characters in the most unexpected, off-kilter ways. I give this 8 out of 10 stars, as the movie achieves what it sets out to do with a kind of austere, almost detached grace that won't work for every member of the audience.

The ending is kind of cryptic but the two young man appear to be holding hands, which is cute -I felt the ending could have been done differently but I don't think it took away from the film because honestly there wasn't much to take away from the film. It's ok, like someone else said: only one likable character (but we only really met 4 characters throughout the whole film). What else can I say about this film to fit the minimum requirement? I have seen much worse gay themed films however so many coming of age/young love stories which are so much better. But this is not a typical gay themed film or coming of age story. The film leaves you with a lot for the imagination (if you even care to postulate) what might have happened to Kirill to make him act the way he does.