Stadt Land Fluss
Director: Benjamin Cantu
Writer: Benjamin Cantu
Cast: Lukas Steltner, Kai Michael Müller
Part of: Viennale

Plot:
Marko (Lukas Steltner) is a very withdrawn apprentice on a big farm. Right before he finishes his apprenticeship, a new guy starts: Jacob (Kai Michael Müller). Jacob is fascinated by the quiet Marko and slowly manages to get past his defences, especially since Marko is drawn to Jacob, too.

The film is a mix of documentary and fiction and I was curious to see how they would fit together. And the answer is: very well. Both forms end up enriching each other. And the story is just really sweet.

Apart from the two main guys, none of the people in the film are actors: they all work on the farm the film was shot at and in the same capacities as they have in the movie. And that is a very interesting interesting approach and its also a very interesting place Cantu found.

In fact, he said he found the farm first and then kind of build the story around it. For any film that is an unusual modus operandi, but for Cantu – who comes from documentaries – it is apparently completely natural. And that’s the way it feels, too.

The two actors were really good and fit very well, not only into the roles they were playing, but also on this farm. I liked their characters and the story. It has a rather happy ending, which is quite an usual for a “gay film” (that is not a comedy) and I appreciated the change.

In short, it’s a charming film with a sweet story, a good sense of humor and a cool, unusual setting that feels completely natural and is bound to draw you in.

Summarising: catch it, if you can.