What it’s about
Gitti (Minichmayr) and Chris (Eidinger), two young Germans on a Mediterranean vacation, at first seem the picture of a happy, loving couple. Yet there are fissures waiting to surface. Chris's architecture practice isn't thriving, and Gitti has to work overtime to prevent his brooding. One afternoon, the pair's idyllic retreat is interrupted by a chance meeting with Hans (Jochen-Wagner), a more successful architect, and his wife Sana (Marischka) at the local market. The foursome get together at a subsequent dinner party, where simmering tensions between Gitti and Chris erupt. All too soon, it's an open question whether their relationship will survive the vacation.
Why we love it
This subtly devastating sleeper from Germany presents an intimate portrait of a relationship unraveling over a vacation in the sun. Though the scenery is gorgeous, Ade wisely keeps her lens trained on her two young, charismatic leads, capturing their increasingly fraught interactions. Minichmayr and Eidinger play off each other perfectly, evoking the all the frustration and bewilderment that comes when a love affair starts heading south. The film is unsettling precisely because it has the ring of truth. A wise and winning film for grown-ups.