This is a German 20-minute short film from almost 15 years ago. We follow two teenage boys who can't stand each other initially, then randomly become friends in the middle of a fight and finally become lovers. There are many pretty good gay-themed short films out there, but this one is a huge mess. The production values are disastrous, the actors are weak and the script is very forgettable. Right when you thought the action could not get any worse, namely when one of the boys randomly starts kissing a girl at the end, the filmmakers behind this project prove us wrong as he starts peeing on the girl's face completely out of nowhere. This is one of those films that you call indie if you are just too gentle to say they sucked in their entirety. Because this is what this movie does. I see that both lead actors and writer/director Jan Krüger have worked on many more projects since this was made and I really hoped for their own sake that they managed to become better. Watching this is like watching paint dry. Or like counting raindrops. Stay away.
5 Reviews
A great achievement
iwouldhitit10 August 2006
Being only 21 minutes in length, it manages to achieve a level of intimacy,intensity and sensibility most full-feature films I've seen never reached. It is utterly unsentimental (rightly so) and pinpoints all the turmoil, conflicts and sexual tension of adolescence with devastating acuteness. The dialogues between the two main actors are sparse and spontaneous, seemed more improvised than anything else. The camera captures most of the film during such natural, undramatic moments, that the first sexual encounter has a magical and electrifying quality to it...actually gave me goose bumps. IMO this is the most effective way to portray a relationship that is at once so fragile and passionate. The ending rounds it all up with something you could call a "moral"...but it's nothing as simple as that.
A gem
A gem
Great topic, great direccion and great actors. What else can you ask to a film?
loren7o23 April 2003
I am honestly impressed by this short film. It managed to balance a great direction and a brilliant performance by the two young actors. It describes a relationship between two "wild/whiz" kids. The feelings the film is talking about are not easy to be represented. If love is a natural instinct and we are all animals, I would say this film is about the original natural state every human being experiences during teen age. And not only then. Am I going too far?
Uninteresting, confusing and amateur
Gordon-1110 March 2008
This film is about the development and evolution of the friendship between two teenage boys.
I can't quite believe it won the best short film awards. After watching it, I have no idea what "Freunde" is about. The film may capture their sexual tension, but that is really all there is to it. The plot, if there is one, is uninteresting. The ending is one big mystery to me, as there is a sudden big twist involving a girl. The whole film looks so amateur and unfinished.
"Freunde" is just every day events being plainly presented on film. There is little character development, and the two teenagers are unengaging. I am afraid I have wasted 20 minutes on this film.
I can't quite believe it won the best short film awards. After watching it, I have no idea what "Freunde" is about. The film may capture their sexual tension, but that is really all there is to it. The plot, if there is one, is uninteresting. The ending is one big mystery to me, as there is a sudden big twist involving a girl. The whole film looks so amateur and unfinished.
"Freunde" is just every day events being plainly presented on film. There is little character development, and the two teenagers are unengaging. I am afraid I have wasted 20 minutes on this film.
seductive
Kirpianuscus27 August 2016
for the wise art to present the nuances of a special age. for the science to reflect the tension between boys. for the dialogues who preserves high level of realism. a film about searches and dreams and bravery and games of two friends. the tension as the axis of relation. and the central moment - dramatic, fake or source of ambiguity in many other films- like the normal answer to the exploration each of other. a great thing is the acting. the vulnerable , sensitive Johannes. the blaze, mature Marco. the secrets and gestures and normal reactions.each as source of seduction. because nothing is more than form of self discover. including the last scene - test for Marco to define the last day event and to demonstrate his power to Johannis.
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