Silent Youth

Don't be put off by the short running time of 75 minutes or the minimal plot, sparse dialog and being basically only a two character film as this German-language film is a surprisingly thoughtful and engaging film.Student Marlo, whilst visiting a friend in Berlin, accidentally bumps into the moody and not very communicable Kirill while walking around the city streets. Both see something of interest in each other and agree to meet again the next day which results in a deepening and eventually a sexual relationship.Not a great deal of character development as such but this probably works in the films favour as it allows the viewer to engage more closely at what clicks between the two protagonists especially when considering they both have been previously involved with girlfriends. This quiet, unassuming film gives a remarkably honest portrayal of two "silent youths" discovering common ground and a budding relationship through awkward and agonizingly insecure moments.Sometimes less is more and this brief film works extremely well on this level. Sensitive direction by Diemo Kemmesies and realistic performances by Martin Bruchmann and Josef Mattes add enormously to the films appeal as does the unusual Berlin settings. This film won't appeal to all but this slow but quietly probing drama deserves viewing.

But mostly liked it. Silent Youth is right, not much dialog or talking. Lots of walking, these boys walk all over no wonder they are so skinny. German movie with subtitles. The boys meet and seem so uncomfortable with each other. Kirill seems to have some mental problems and Marlo is a very sweet guy who keeps on putting in the effort to make something work with Kirill. More and more silent walking. These 2 young men finally get together and still they seem so uncomfortable thanks to the strangeness that is Kirill. I give Marlo props for hanging in there, but it is obvious he cares about Kirill. The acting by both of these young men are phenomenal.

This movie was excellent. The pace reminded me of a wonderful film by Julian Hernandez: Raging Sun, Raging Sky. Silent Youth, on the surface, is a boy meets boy movie and that's it, nothing more. Usually I find real-time movies a bit dull, but this movie shows the inner turmoil of these two youths with such sensitivity and awareness that it had me riveted to my seat the entire time. The character of Russian decent is obviously traumatized, has PTSD, severe bouts of depersonalization (shutting down) and the things that he utters and does are off the wall if not a bit crazy. The other character appears a bit more functional except for his attraction to the tormented young man. The director Diemo Kemmesies creates a tension between these two characters that carries the entire movie. The tension is so extreme that I kept thinking something horrible is going to happen. But it never does. There are no sex scenes, no sexual exploitation, which in turn heightens the sense of turmoil and innocence.

I liked the story. It played well with the 'Awkward pause' in the strained dialogue between the two young men. Both of them were cautious and tentative, but they did gradually draw together. The beauty of the story is that they were having a tough time making a connection, but overall, it eventually came to a promising end. The film was a bit too short, but I think it is one of the better gay films I've seen

This was much, much better than I expected. Definitely "different," but the viewer feels all of the awkwardness, angst and confusion right along with the characters. With fairly minimal dialogue, very little action and basic plot, one might think that the movie would drag, but it was over before I knew it, and left me wishing for more. I would certainly recommend this one.

A masterpiece in building and executing a plot/story with minimal spoken words! The story is a bit slow and quite simplistic but all the other elements are there: passion, exploration, experimentation, connection, risk taking and, most importantly, the winning of love/attraction between the two young men.... This is a keeper!!!

My thoughts were that there have to be tons of other more interesting gay guys in Berlin to follow around all day and you don't have to settle for someone mental and slightly creepy (the character named Kirill, who must have some serious issues) that does not talk to you and does not want to cuddle with you. I wanted to ask the main character (Marlo), "Why would you want to hang out day after day with this mental guy? Just because he lightly touched your hand as the two of you passed on a street?" The single redeeming activity between the two main characters is when they go to the mental guy's apartment and shampoo each other's hair. Besides that three minute scene, it was just them silently walking the streets, silently sitting in a bedroom, and silently chilling out in various spots in Berlin. Yaaaaawn! Nothing tender, nothing to draw them into a relationship other than a chance touch as they pass on the street? Really?

I really liked this film. I agree with the other reviewers that it's very slow-paced, and therefore if you're the impatient type, you'd be better off skipping this one. I found it very interesting how it slowly becomes clear that Kirill definitely has some kind of mental or psychological issues going on, yet Marlo doesn't run away in terror (or run away at all). I really want to know what happened next. I wish there was a sequel.

Very interesting German short drama about 2 young men attracted silently to each other. However, it could have been more elaborate and certainly, one remains eager the movie would have been longer, it's really too short for such an interesting narrative featuring very promising good young actors.