Summer on the Balcony (4 Stars)

This film is impossible to describe without making it sound boring. It is so down to Earth, so normal. Nothing happens to the main characters that couldn't happen to you or me. If we were middle-aged women living in Berlin, that is. And yet the story is fascinating, however mundane it might seem.

Katrin and Nicole are two women in their late 30's who live in apartments in the same house in Berlin. Katrin is divorced with a 12-year-old son, and has been unemployed for three years. Nicole has never been married and works as a community nurse, taking care of old people who are unable to wash or dress themselves. Nasty. I don't know which one of them I pity more.

The two women are best friends and spend their evenings sitting on Nicole's balcony drinking until late into the night. They both dream of the big romance waiting just around the corner. But it never comes. Then one summer Nicole meets Ronald, a truck driver. She puts up with him despite his obnoxious personality. She asks him one night in bed, "Do you think being good at sex gives you the right to be such an asshole?" When Ronald moves in with her the friendship between the two women breaks down.

The film is directed by Andreas Dresen. I've watched a few other films by him, such as "Willenbrock" and "Grill Point". He has a very distinctive style that I greatly enjoy. I'm determined to watch more of his films. This film has only ever been released in Germany, Region 2 PAL, but it has English subtitles.