"Ein Weg" is a relatively new award-nominated live action movie from Germany. This one premiered back in 2017, runs for 105 minutes and it is the first full feature film effort by writer Chris Miera and his second work as director, probably his most known career achievement so far. The cast is relatively unknown. Most of the actors have appeared in German production on the small screen already, but even I as a German film buff must admit that I have not recognized any faces here, let alone names. This is the story of two men, a gay couple and we basically get an insight into their relationship from start to end, how they get closer early on years ago, how they are at their happiest, how struggles keep arising and finally how their relationship breaks apart. It is not a chronological movie and I personally found it a bit annoying, but that is just my subjective opinion and I am in general (even if not always) a fan of chronological films. There are some supporting actors/characters in here, but the film never really moves away from the couple at its core, so the two lead actors are in almost every scene. I think they are doing mostly fine, especially the one who plays the less masculine of the two, but he also has better material. Still I am not really convinced. the film did feel realistic most of the time and that's why it is a close call for me between 2 and 3 stars out of 5, between a positive and negative recommendation. All in all, I have to go for the lower though. The script did not always feel convincing and there are some lengths I must say. I think it is easiest to appreciate when you really feel connected with one of the two characters because they seem similar to you in terms of behavior or personality etc. I would not really say that this is a film mostly for gay audiences the way it is the case for really many other gay-themed films because this one here depicts a love story that could have happened this way also to a straight couple in my opinion. It is more about love as a concept and how it can fade over the years and not about homosexuality or so. There is also no huge elaboration on how they got their child and the struggle it could have been bureaucratically. They certainly could have elaborated ont hat too, but like I said everybody except the two men is just there because they have an impact on the relationship. It is never about their stories. Same applies to the female character who has the most screen time here. Another problem with gay-themed movies in my opinion is that they frequently include steamy sex scenes to draw attention from the lack of a coherent and interesting plot. Also not a problem here. The more I think about this film, the more I like it sort of, even if it is far from flawless. So whatever, lets give it the higher rating and positive recommendation. I believe Miera did pretty fine here, especially if we consider his age and the fact that he is not too experienced yet as a filmmaker and also wasn't in 2017. And yeah like I said the actors are all pretty good. I never had the impression that I was watching performances or portrayals, but that I was watching genuine people who were just themselves. So after some hesitation initially, I give this movie a thumbs-up. One of the better, but not best German movies from the last three years. Go check it out. Also some good choices regarding locations where the film plays.
Review of Paths
