This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
Marlo is visiting Berlin during a break from his studies. After he arrives he goes into the city to talk around. There he catches the eye of another young man, Kirill, when they both cross the road and their hands touch. There's a flicker of interest. It's the kind of thing a more experienced person might immediately pick up on and pursue, but neither of these youths has that degree of confidence. Instead, they watch one another from a distance, meet again by supposed accident, start up an awkward conversation. They hang out and decide to meet the next day. Neither man knows whats in store. On their third day, when Marlo visits Kirill’s dorm, they do end up getting physical with each other. Its a moment of awkwardness because neither of them has done this before. Once the lovemaking is over, Kirill seems more distant and odder than ever. As a viewer I cannot figure out what’s with Kirill’s behavior. Thankfully the film ends with both guys walking together in the city of Berlin.
There is a lot going on unspoken on in this movie as these two men deal with discovering their sexuality and sometimes it really is not clear what it is. It does get frustrating at times because the film is too slow; even for my liking. I liked the portions when the 2 start talking to each other and get to know the other person. There is awkwardness yet intimacy between them. It's one thing to be open to the prospect of same sex activity; it's another to confess a desire for a particular person and negotiate everything that goes with that. Acting wise, both the actors are brilliant and do full justice to their part. They have to speak through silence and their eyes. The city of Berlin is also shown in background quite well while we see our protagonists making their own connection in this city.
Largely the film remains observational and mundane in its approach. Good and short duration, however, a tad too slow, which is a pity as the two boy’s characters had great possibilities. (5.5/10)
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