First the good: The acting is engaging and the photography is, at times, inspired. The subtitles are very good translations (I am a native German speaker). Unfortunately, the storyline is trite - "oddball outcasts find strength and friendship during an impromptu road trip" - still, what could have been a new angle on this oft-told tale, or a really engaging film about the struggles of young people who don't quite fit into our 'normal' and are marginalized, is ultimately neither. For me the most regrettable fail occurs just when I was ready to make an emotional investment in the main character; the protagonist (MINOR SPOILER HERE) chases and hurts some rude kids. This might have been forgivable had the protagonist not been 27 years old, more than twice the age of the kids (who were impudent but no physical threat). The movie continues as if nothing untoward had occurred, which troubled me even more. Even allowing that this was a set up for the road trip, the casual dismissal of violence against children made me uneasy. Worse, later on there is more unjustifiable physical violence.Similarly the rest of the movie vacillates between humorous lightness and harsh realities, and that, along with the uneven pace and the (for me) awful choice of musical score (except the classical music, which I liked) left me with the impression that I had just watched a glossy 'After School Special' with a confusing message. I would have given the movie a 6.5, but didn't feel it merits rounding up to 7.

German screenwriter and director Ralf Huettner's eleventh feature film which was written by German actor, writer and singer Florian David Fitz, was screened in the German Cinema section at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival in 2011, was shot on locations in Germany and Italy and is a German production which was produced by German film producers Harald Kügler and Viola Jäger. It tells the story about Vincent, a 27-year-old man with Tourette's who recently lost his mother who told him on her deathbed that she wanted to go to the sea. After being sent to an institution by his busy father where he has to share room with a compulsive young man named Alexander, Vincent meets a young girl named Marie who has an eating disorder. Marie and Vincent finds a rare connection and driven by Vincent who wishes to bring his mother's urn to the sea, they and Alexander escape from the institution.Finely and engagingly directed by German filmmaker Ralf Huettner, this finely paced and unsentimental fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints, draws a humane and mindful portrayal of a grief-stricken young man's journey to fulfill his mother's last wish and his relationship with an anorectic young woman. While notable for its naturalistic and atmospheric milieu depictions and the sterling cinematography by cinematographer Andreas Berger, this character-driven and dialog-driven independent film depicts several empathic studies of character and contains a great score by German composer Ralf Hildenbeutel and German electronic musician Stevie B-Zet.This romantic, humorous, serious, very charming and universally appealing road-movie about interpersonal relations, love and identity, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, subtle character development, colorful characters, quick-witted dialog and the compelling and heartfelt acting performances by German actor Florian David Fitz, German actress Karoline Herfurth and German actor Johannes Allmayer, An exhilarating, life-affirming and exceptionally involving love-story which gained, among other awards, the German Film Award for Best Feature Film and Best Actor Florian David Fitz at the German Film Awards in 2011.

Three disabled, two men and a girl, one, a Tourette's syndrome sufferer, the second, an obsessive, the third, an anorexic, run away from a rehabilitation center, and change at least temporarily their behavior, when togetherness obliges them to make a switch in their life. Even the hero's father and the psychologist, who are going after them, pass from a relation of enmity to a friendly one. Pop music, speed of vehicles, the impact of Alps panorama, and brilliant photography, contribute in moving spectators to share the enthusiastic but momentary deliverance of the characters in their journey to the sea. The rhythm of the film is built using a wise dose of humor and sadness, candor and cruelty, beating movements of the camera, and contrast through alternative sequences of pursuers and pursued, showing the mad side of the normal and the sane side of the sick. The unusual expression of emotions in the faces and in the gait of the characters produces a sense of fresh spontaneity. The five principal actors make an exact performance. An overall idyllic atmosphere attenuates the underlying tragedy. Incredibility of certain scenes (the trio at the top of the cross; Alexander, the obsessive, conducting an imaginary orchestra) paradoxically succeed in convincing us, due to their sublimity. Catharsis is here an issue of giving up the hope of complete recovery. It's a movie that moves you to see it.

Vincent, a young man who suffers from Tourette's syndrome, has just lost his mother. His father, a successful politician, does not want to take care of him and therefore places him into a mental institution. He is put into a room with Alexander, a guy with a compulsive disorder, and is shown around by Marie, an anorectic girl.This could be the start of a depressing film with problem-ridden antiheroes, and indeed the three protagonists suffer because of their mental illnesses. Vincent once says to Marie: "I've got a clown in my head who craps between the synapses; you just have to eat something and everything will be fine." However, a very funny road movie starts when Marie manages to steal the key of the tattered car belonging to Dr Rose, the director of the institution, and they drive away, heading to Italy. Of course, Vincent's dad and the director want to bring them back and follow them in Vincent's father's posh car, a shiny black BMW with a lot of oomph.You can see the two young men struggling with their illnesses, and Alexander even seems to be able to forget about his anxieties. Vincent explains that he can feel his tics coming, but he cannot prevent them. "Can you decide not to sneeze?" When under pressure, he is in the grip of his tics and shouts obscenities. The three young people become friends, and when Vincent's father and the director find them rather soon, they sneak into the BMW and continue their trip.All along they get into funny situations because they cannot pay at the petrol station or because Vincent flips out, or when you see how Dr Rose and Vincent's father, as different as they can be, have to put their heads together – and that just makes you laugh, but the film is also thought-provoking when Vincent, Alex and Marie talk about their problems, and touching when Vincent's dad tells Dr Rose about Vincent's childhood.If you expect a sugar-coated happy ending with Marie and Vincent or Dr Rose and Vincent's dad falling in love, all cheerful and without mental problems, merrily reunited, you will be disappointed. However, Vincent's father has not only geographically travelled to find his lost son: he indeed comes mentally closer to him and no longer considers him to be a loser.If you want to see a film that makes you laugh without your having to stop thinking, go and watch it. It is definitely entertaining and gives you food for thought at the same time.