Three (2010)

"3" is a 2-hour, 5-year-old movie written and directed by Tom Tykwer, one of the most famous German filmmakers right now. He usually makes English-language films these days, but this one here is a bit of a return back to the roots for him. Not a surprise that this film got lots of awards recognition all over the world. Tykwer won best Director at the German Film Awards, Rois won Best Actress and Mathilde Bonnefoy won Best Editing. Bonnefoy recently won an Oscar for her documentary on Edward Snowden, but she has been a longtime-editor for Tykwer before her biggest success.Let's start with the positive things about this movie: The 3 actors all did a fine job and it is an interesting story Tykwer tells us here. Some of his films struggle in terms of credible character development, but here he certainly delivers in that area. It is a dramatic movie, but it's never depressing. Even a cancer diagnosis cannot destroy the relationships in this film. I would almost call it a feel-good film. Also, I think Tykwer succeeded in giving us a very aesthetic take on bisexuality, which is a huge challenger and I have seen many films, in which the director totally failed with this attempt. This is much more than a gay-themed movie. It's a triangle love story with great feelings. And finally, "Major Tom" is a truly great song, even if it is a bit narcissistic given Tykwer's first name. But unfortunately, there are negative aspects too. The major one for me is credibility. First of all, Striesow's character coincidentally is always where Rois's is early on. At the convention. At the theater. At the football game. It's really not that realistic. And then he also falls in love with Schipper's (director of the famous recent film "Victoria") character, after pretty much no indicators that both men are bisexual? And what is it with the likelihood of the two meeting in a swimming pool after Striesow's character already has an affair with Rois'. This is a bit of a problem here in my opinion. I appreciate the way love is depicted, but they should have found a better route to it. And finally, a minor criticism about the film's poster which is a major spoiler as it is actually the last shot of the film. Certainly a beautiful shot and a nice way to close it, but why give it away already? I also did not like the split screen shots on several occasions, but that's just subjective.Anway, all in all, I enjoyed the watch. i also believe this is a good film to watch more than once as I certainly liked it more the second viewing. Looking at this one, I would love Tykwer to make more films here in Germany again as he certainly has a good deal of talent and there are more than enough actors he could use to come up with interesting projects in the future. As for "3", I recommend the watch. Totally worth checking out.

Tom Tykwer has come of age as a director with this film, and has dropped his sparkling visual flair in favor of straightforward yet sophisticated storytelling. His camera and editing are spot-on yet smart, as he carefully weaves a layered tale of two lost adults who rediscover and remake themselves through their relationship with another man.His nuanced trio of characters deliberately play against gender types: Simon, the husband, is passive, quiet, artistic, and metaphorically female; Hanna, the wife, is assertive, successful, opinionated, and symbolically male; Adam, their paramour, a fertilization specialist who "brings life" to their dull routine, has both male and female sides.The way their lives intertwine is both surprising and entertaining, and Tykwer not only explores their raw cores of emotional and physical need, but deftly and expertly exposes the humor in Hanna and Simon's awkward fumbling for new purpose.What Woody Allen does for New York, Tykwer does for Berlin, showcasing the city as a vibrant center of art, culture, and yes, sexuality, filled with creative inhabitants who have gone there to remake themselves.His intermittent visual collages of the character's lives inject new vitality to the stale montages we've all seen a million times; it's not that the screen has never been subdivided this way before, but that Tykwer's method of visual construction is meticulous and succinct -- like every frame of this film.The result is an engaging, truthful, and non-traditional romance that leaves you feeling hopeful that love can tear down our seemingly permanent walls; yet another reason to set it in Berlin!Highly recommended.

Tom Tykwer maybe started the new German film wonder by "Run, Lola run". He loves to hate mondaine Berlin people. Here is the couple fits into all descriptions. She's the anchor of philosophy TV show. He's the owner of a contemporary art promotion business.Not being aware of it, they meet the same man, who seduces them both. They both get ridiculous, without being aware of that either. But the passions seem real, through all broken perfection.So we can laugh at Berlin, but does that matter? For a while perhaps, but not after leaving the theater. And maybe that's what Tom Tykwer wants.

This one is a typical movie from Tom Tykwer, but one of his best. Is it constructed? Of course, it is fiction, paired with really good dialogue and performances. I don't know if it will be shown in English, but if you understand the language you should watch it in German. The movie is well crafted like one piece, everything fits perfectly together: the cinematography / the cutting, the music, the plot, the pace and the meaning. It has some scenes with black humour in it, but not too many. And although it deals with fundamental questions of life / death, relationships and sexual orientation, I left the cinema in an uplifted mood. Recommended for people who like Tom-Tykwer- or menage-à-trois-movies (e.g. "Threesome", "Jules and Jim").