Director: Nils Bökamp
Running Time: 79 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: April 15th 2016 (UK)
Berlin-based Photographer Jonas is planning a trip into rural Germany as part of an art project, and so invites his British friend Philip to go along with him. They got to know each other in London, but haven’t seen each other for a while. However, they soon fall back into an easy, almost childlike friendship after they meet up.
Philip is gay, something Jonas has never had an issue with, but things get a little more complicated when they pick up Polish hitchhiker Boris. A tension between Philip and Boris begins to turn sexual, and as the two men get closer, Jonas begins to re-evaluate what he wants from his friendship with Philip. Ultimately it becomes a make or break moment for their friendship.
Despite its good-looking young men, full-frontal nudity and sexual tension, You & I is not a movie for everybody. Many will feel it’s too slow and that for the first half, it essentially forgets to have a plot. Even after that it’s not exactly packed with story. However, those willing to give it a chance will appreciate how it slowly builds the relationship between the two main men, exploring the camaraderie of youth and questioning the edge of platonic friendship and whether even without sex there can be aspects of romance and courtship between two people who are completely unaware that this is what they’re doing.
As Philip and Jonas travel to a series of beautiful, dilapidated houses, you can view the boys’ easy nudity, playfulness and intimate conversation either as completely innocent, or as two people in denial about the sexual tension building between them. Boris then becomes the catalyst for them to look at what’s going on and what they really want from one another.
It does have issues though, not least of which is that it’s sometimes so quiet and so slow to build, that it’s difficult to tell whether it’s actually about anything at all. It’s a film that’s very reliant on the audience to invest in it and to mentally explore what they’re being shown. That’s not made too easy due to the fact that it doesn’t give the audience that many anchors as to what it’s exploring and where it’s going. For that reason, some will come to the conclusion that it doesn’t have a plot, as it lacks the usual markers for the viewer to hang onto.
If you do a little work though the whole thing starts to open up to reveal a worthwhile and interesting film. Plus, it certainly does hurt that both Philip and Jonas are easy on the eyes and don’t mind flashing a little flesh.
Overall Verdict: An interesting film, but only if you’re willing to do a lot of the work yourself – otherwise it’s in danger of seeming like some good-looking guys travelling around for no particular reason.
Reviewer: Tim Isaac
Gay?
Exciting?
Dramatic?
Funny?
Romantic?
Scary?
Sexy?
Family Friendly?
I too was confused about their relationship; wasn’t sure if they had an understanding’ (Jonas declaring he is str8 but will still be friends with Phillip and ignore Phillip’s orientation or Jonas was secretly falling in love with Phillip, but afraid to acknowledge it ?) Of course, it was the latter! It would have been more interesting to show how this new found love relationship devolved after the denouement All in all, a worthwhile view.