I saw this film at the Jugendfilmpreis BW" 2010, and I was deeply impressed: The way it combines humour, songs and many different characters/ locations was very original and cleverly done.
At first glance, the story itself wouldn't sound too spectacular: Arnold, a young student, studies at a technical university. He doesn't have too many friends, and his main quest is finding a girlfriend. He meets many strange characters on his way, only to find a mentor who shows him how to be really successful with women... But it is told in a very original way, with many surprising ideas, making the story unpredictable and very interesting.
The film itself was full of surprises, and I was very impressed by the many unexpected twists. One scene, when Arnold waits for girls sending him emails was most original, featuring a very funny song about waiting for messages", which anyone who has ever waited for emails would find funny... (Well, at least I did ;-)
And there is one scene towards the middle, where Arnold gets into a student's association in order to meet an intellectual" girl... I don't want to spoil the fun, so just a remark: The dialogue-writing and acting (especially in this scene) were superb, and the characters he meets there are among the most original and funny I've seen in a movie during the last months.
My second favourite scene was when Konstantin, Arnold's mentor, shows him how to seduce a woman very quickly, and Konstantin "helping" a punk- girl preparing for a physics-test afterwards... (The first part of this scene is even viewable on IMDb).
Generally, I liked the character ofKonstantin" (played by the director) very much, as his cynical attitude towards women and flirting is so exaggerated yet (in parts) true, that I got quite some laughs from him.
The only thing I liked less was a short scene with Don-Giovanni-Opera references towards the end, which may seem a bit confusing if you don't know the opera. (It's a reference to the whole finale of Don Giovanni, as I read on IMDb. If you know classical operas, the scene is surely funny, but if you don't, it can seem a bit strange). But, it was not that long, and I even recognized a play on the song Non piu andrai" by Mozart, which was hilarious with a new text, sung by the character "Konstantin" who had drunk a bit of wine in the scene before... And, as the scene featured very nice cinematography and lighting (almost entirely lit by candles, if I remember right) I think it was OK.
The ending itself was very surprising; Unlike any ending I've seen before... (The narrative technique may remind one of a scene in Funny Games", but it's done entirely differently in this movie).
The camera and editing were really astonishing, and you would never guess by looking at the film that it had quite a low budget: The frame-compositions, visual ideas and camera-moves were very original and artistic, and I liked the quick and very elegant, sometimes even surprising cuts. I really enjoyed the movie's visual style, which, coupled with the great acting, made it seem very dynamic and "full of life".
Along this, I really liked the use of music, which fit the scenes and the editing very, very well. My favourite part here would be a short sequence in the middle of the movie, in which Arnold walks through a park, accompanied by a classical symphony. This scene was very much made like a silent movie, and transported all emotions just by music and pictures, which, combined with the camera-moves and editing, really "flowed" well together!
All in all: Very recommendable, and can't wait that the film gets released!
At first glance, the story itself wouldn't sound too spectacular: Arnold, a young student, studies at a technical university. He doesn't have too many friends, and his main quest is finding a girlfriend. He meets many strange characters on his way, only to find a mentor who shows him how to be really successful with women... But it is told in a very original way, with many surprising ideas, making the story unpredictable and very interesting.
The film itself was full of surprises, and I was very impressed by the many unexpected twists. One scene, when Arnold waits for girls sending him emails was most original, featuring a very funny song about waiting for messages", which anyone who has ever waited for emails would find funny... (Well, at least I did ;-)
And there is one scene towards the middle, where Arnold gets into a student's association in order to meet an intellectual" girl... I don't want to spoil the fun, so just a remark: The dialogue-writing and acting (especially in this scene) were superb, and the characters he meets there are among the most original and funny I've seen in a movie during the last months.
My second favourite scene was when Konstantin, Arnold's mentor, shows him how to seduce a woman very quickly, and Konstantin "helping" a punk- girl preparing for a physics-test afterwards... (The first part of this scene is even viewable on IMDb).
Generally, I liked the character ofKonstantin" (played by the director) very much, as his cynical attitude towards women and flirting is so exaggerated yet (in parts) true, that I got quite some laughs from him.
The only thing I liked less was a short scene with Don-Giovanni-Opera references towards the end, which may seem a bit confusing if you don't know the opera. (It's a reference to the whole finale of Don Giovanni, as I read on IMDb. If you know classical operas, the scene is surely funny, but if you don't, it can seem a bit strange). But, it was not that long, and I even recognized a play on the song Non piu andrai" by Mozart, which was hilarious with a new text, sung by the character "Konstantin" who had drunk a bit of wine in the scene before... And, as the scene featured very nice cinematography and lighting (almost entirely lit by candles, if I remember right) I think it was OK.
The ending itself was very surprising; Unlike any ending I've seen before... (The narrative technique may remind one of a scene in Funny Games", but it's done entirely differently in this movie).
The camera and editing were really astonishing, and you would never guess by looking at the film that it had quite a low budget: The frame-compositions, visual ideas and camera-moves were very original and artistic, and I liked the quick and very elegant, sometimes even surprising cuts. I really enjoyed the movie's visual style, which, coupled with the great acting, made it seem very dynamic and "full of life".
Along this, I really liked the use of music, which fit the scenes and the editing very, very well. My favourite part here would be a short sequence in the middle of the movie, in which Arnold walks through a park, accompanied by a classical symphony. This scene was very much made like a silent movie, and transported all emotions just by music and pictures, which, combined with the camera-moves and editing, really "flowed" well together!
All in all: Very recommendable, and can't wait that the film gets released!
