I really do not know how to rate this film... On the one hand, it is obvious that the director is a rather savvy filmmaker, while on the other the movie reels off uncontrolled after the first half of the picture, to the point of becoming (at least in my mind) totally ridiculous. I suppose it is probably 'too modern' for me, I don't know.Don't get me wrong, I am far from being a puritan of any sort, much less homophobic, but I think this was not only completely over the top (especially the ending), but also completely unrealistic, not to say impossible. The 'teaching' of the movie is in my opinion also completely wrong. One cannot, and should not always do as one pleases, otherwise our world as we know it would probably implode. As I said before, too modern...

Simon and Hanna have been together for twenty years, they've established the easy peace-that-follows-passion so common in relationships of a certain age. Simon and Hanna are happy. Not the fake-going-through-the- motions happy, but pretty content if not a little rut induced angsty. One day, while participating in a medical ethics symposium, Hanna meets genetic engineer, Adam, with whom she openly spars. She meets him again that night after she is stood-up by Simon at the theater. Meanwhile, Simon is distracted by those of his mother and his own health issues. For a third time, Hanna bumps into Adam, this time on a soccer pitch. They spend the day together drinking, seeing a soccer game, getting to know each other while Simon is being told by his doctor that he must be admitted to the hospital for immediate surgery. He is worried because he can't reach Hanna. While he is having surgery, she is beginning an affair. Hanna is there when he wakes-up and there while he is recovering. Simon is affected a lot by the surgery. I won't say what sort of surgery he had, but it can be quite affecting. Oh, the scene depicting the surgery is brief but pretty graphic. You've been warned. Simon is out one night at the local covered pool where he has an intimate, very intimate encounter with... Wait for it... Adam! Simon is confused, a bit startled and probably mostly curious. The three of them begin these affairs, cultivating new ideas about their sexual selves. Hanna and Simon also rediscover their sexual selves together. And that's just the first half of the film. You know from the set-up that there will come a reckoning, that the party won't last. When that moment comes, the three leads play it beautifully: the sudden sparks of recognition and piecing it all together are priceless. Where the film fails is in the editing. Shakespeare said it best, "brevity is the soul of wit." Some of the exposition could have been left on the cutting room floor. Surely any audience going to see this film could suss out the narrative. The use of the number 3 as part of the narrative falls a bit flat. Given the apparent love triangle, 3 would seem sufficient to reference just that. Where Tykwer works real magic is in his ability to make his actors go all-in. There is no trepidation or fear of laying it all bare before the camera. If you are a fan of the work of Whit Stillman, Wes Anderson or Noah Baumbach, you'll like "3." It's quite good.

Writer/director Tom Twyker (Run Lola Run, Perfume, Heaven, The International. Paris, je t'aime) is proving to be one of the most fearless and creative talents in film today. He knows how to create strange stories that take us by surprise, present them with excellent actors, selects and composes musical scores that are as perfect as any being created, introduces just enough philosophy and scientific investigation into timely topics to challenge our brains, and tops it off with inventive photography - superimposing split screens that enhance not only the progress of the story but also allow the presentation of brief glimpses of 'dangerous' ideas that stirs the cauldron to boiling.3 is a fascinating tale. Simon (Sebastian Schipper) is an artistic architect who works with sculptors to bring their art into being. He is in a longterm relationship with Hanna (Sophie Rois) who is a television journalist cum scientist who is widely popular in their hometown of Berlin. Simon and Hanna are in their forties and deeply in love. Simon is informed that his mother has advanced pancreatic carcinoma and when his mother attempts suicide with an overdose and fails, she is brain dead, supported on machines. Simon stays at her bedside while Hanna continues her line of investigation about new stem cell theories, attending lectures by the handsome Adam (Devid Striesow) - a married man with children who leads a separate life of clandestine but short-lived gay affairs. Simon's mother dies and Simon is diagnosed with testicular carcinoma, undergoes an orchiectomy and begins chemotherapy, losing his hair in the process. All of this he shares with Hanna: the two decide they probably should marry and Hanna wants children while Simon thinks world timing is poor for starting a family (he is also aware of the fact that his operation and chemotherapy may represent the end of his sexuality and fertility).Though devoted to Simon, Hanna is attracted to Adam and finds ways to be near him. Soon they are in a physical love affair. Simon recovers his disease by swimming in a beautiful Berlin gym where he quite incidentally meets Adam, shares his operation with the stranger in the locker room, and Adam proceeds to demonstrate that Simon is indeed not impotent! Simon has new feelings aroused, and he and Adam begin a love affair. Hanna and Simon get married but still each of them has feelings for Adam. When Hanna discovers she is pregnant the story spins to its conclusion and the triptych of the title is established.This film is subtle but frank, explores sexuality in an open and honest way exploring themes relevant to our time: the biological and the ethical side of human life, the determinist way of viewing our sexuality and gender, the ways in which we define our selves in a time with shifting mores, the chance of love in a society with few if any boundaries. Love affairs as demonstrated between Hanna and Simon, Hanna and Adam, and Simon and Adam are treated equally and sensitively.The three primary actors are excellent as is the entire cast. The cinematography and film manipulation by Frank Griebe (with Twyker) and the musical score Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek, Gabriel Isaac Mounsey, and Tom Tykwer (with a little help form Debussy and others!) is splendid. This is a first class film and deserves the attention of a very wide audience. It is likely to be one of those films that grows in stature with the passage of time. Grady Harp

Unusual and, at the same time, uplifting story. Great acting and a well-directed movie. I am not sure if everyone who watched it will be touched in the same way I was, but -if people can overcome their stereotypes and simply enjoy the film- it will leave them with positive feelings and make them reflect on it long after the ending credits have rolled up. The story is not about your typical next door married couple that enters their middle-age era with all its fears, frustrations, joys, sorrows and life-changing truths. It is that same story but with an unexpected twist and a touching end. I am a happy gay man in a stable civil partnership. After a long period of a loving, monogamous and joyful 'marriage' we stepped into the same twilight zone of middle age, which evoked many questions, doubts and ridiculous thoughts. At the same time, and by some strange twist of fate, we met our Adam in real life and both developed feelings for him. Ever since we live in our own ménage à trios, which gives us many happy moments, pleasures and helps us to re-discovered ourselves.One reviewer described it as painfully slow and full of empty self importance. I would say that Tom Tykwer cleverly combined some scenes without dialogue -but with much deeper meaning- with other elements that are very dynamic, colorful, erotically-charged or simply entertaining. The soundtrack gives it a perfect final touch. Brilliant photography.If people think that they will miraculously skip their middle age in life, they should avoid this movie. Since that is biologically impossible -- watch the movie and you may learn something about the most fundamental issues that life brings half way down the road. Highly recommended!