Boy 7

When Sam regains consciousness on the tracks in the middle of a subway tunnel, he doesn't know how he got there or where he came from. He doesn't even know his own name. As he franticly tries to find out who he is, he meets a young girl who has also lost her memory. By using a diary, which appears to be his own, they try to put the missing pieces together. And the danger grows with it.

Putting David Kross and Emilia Schüle in the leads, director Özgür Yildirim ("Chiko", "Blutzbrüdaz") has carved out new ground for himself and explored new territory for Germany's film industry in recent year. A dystopic film eying at a young audience is something that doesn't easily gets green light. But in the bigger trend of opening up to genre experimentation Yildirim has now for sure made his mark with this refined thriller: Using flashy camera-work, great set- and costume-design and a brooding soundsphere, he never lets stilistic decisions dominate the twisted story.

If the film is starting with a ego-perspective that lets the viewer be in Sam's shoes, tumbling around, it resonates with the perspective of gaming. A decision that perfectly sets the frantic mood. His precision in using language has been praised often in earlier work. The same here: Yildirims intuition for youth language is unfallible. Carefully scripted, the performances from the young actors and their lines feel natural in an an all-but-natural dystopic world, in which a Boy will grow beyond his number.

Germany 2015