Like the ebb and flow of the waves of the Baltic Sea that rhythmically mark the seasons of Andreas and Martin's life together, Ein Weg (Paths/The Path) is slow moving, sometime almost glacial, but with a broody energy that keeps the film driving forward. This is a subtle and powerfully melancholic work; it is wrapped in a visual and tonal drabness, but the elegance and colours of life shine through with a wistful playfulness if you let go of the resistance you feel toward the film's apparent inertia, and allow the narrative to carry you through the story of these men's lives together. Whilst this film deals with love and loss, life's moments of lightness and its challenges, togetherness and the unwinding of a once great partnership, it is not a political piece, and tries neither to romanticise nor demonise the state of the gay man's plight in modern era. This is not necessarily a film for the young and hopeful, nor for those looking for reassurance that life will always resemble the moments captured in selfies and family photos. It will however resonate with those who have spent long years with a partner, and those who have had some time to step back and appreciate the beauty in all the weather that life's seasons bring.
5 Reviews
Andreas and Martin
cekadah2 November 2020
Here we have a rather confusing yet interesting film of two men - one loves, the other doesn't know what he wants. The two seem perfectly paired, Andreas loves but Martin is grossly insecure or suffers from mental depression. We never really find out!
Martin makes Andreas life 'hell' but Andreas stays true while Martin seems to have other plans and tries to make Andreas feel guilty about it. A very confusing plot but the actors, plot and acting keep you watching. The setting is always fall or winter - the time of year when nature seems to be dying - symbolic of their relationship.
This film is one you have to want to watch.
Martin makes Andreas life 'hell' but Andreas stays true while Martin seems to have other plans and tries to make Andreas feel guilty about it. A very confusing plot but the actors, plot and acting keep you watching. The setting is always fall or winter - the time of year when nature seems to be dying - symbolic of their relationship.
This film is one you have to want to watch.
Paths
CinemaSerf2 November 2023
Hmmm. This might well have worked better on paper, or perhaps even on stage where the confines of the sets might have given it greater intimacy. As a movie, though, it's all rather pedestrian. It's about two men (though it could easily be about any adult permutation) - "Andreas" (Mike Hoffman) and "Martin" (Mathis Reinhardt) who have a young son "Max" and a life together which we now enjoy/share/endure over a rather lengthy hundred minutes. It's not that it's dull - indeed there is a paucity of dialogue that works quite well at times, it's just that it's maybe a bit too much like real life. Not a great deal happens - and when it does, it's not necessarily that interesting to those watching or can appear a little dramatically contrived. The film is set over quite a long timeframe too, and there are gaps. Sometimes that is good but towards the end, though, that becomes rather puzzling - almost as if the writers just wanted to get it all over with. It's quite nicely filmed, but I felt a little like a fly on the wall watching something that wasn't that compelling or always any of my business.
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