Goodbye Berlin
2016 · Directed by Fatih Akin
Original language: German
- drama
- comedy
The story
Maik, a fourteen-year-old teenager, sets out on a road trip during summertime with Tschick, a new classmate, in a stolen car. The two share life changing experiences during the eventful journey.
What it’s like
Bright, sun-scorched summer light over flat Brandenburg fields, dusty back roads, and open skies that seem to go on forever, shot with a loose, roving camera that stays close to two boys in a battered car. The palette runs warm and saturated, with golden afternoons, pale wheat, and the grey-blue of small-town dusk, and the soundtrack leans on bouncy guitar pop and rock that keeps the drive moving. Vibe: wry, restless, sun-drenched freedom with a streak of loneliness underneath. It suits a lazy summer afternoon, a long drive with the windows down, or a comfort watch when you want warmth without much weight. The pacing is episodic and bumpy, with comic set-pieces, awkward encounters, and quiet moments of confession between the leads. Intensity is mild: crude jokes, some drinking, a few tense confrontations and a car crash, but no gore and little real violence. Its arc is an unlikely friendship between a sheltered, anxious boy and an unpredictable outsider who opens up his world. It is for people who want a funny, tender, low-stakes coming-of-age road trip with a sense of place.
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