The beginning of a day, after all, is to end, neither obligation nor purpose, but everything is so simple, so natural. This day may be the most ordinary day for the idle Wen Qingnick, the same idleness, but it may also be the most extraordinary day for him, encountering so many people and so many things. Before this day, maybe he never thought about his future path, and after this day, maybe he didn't know what path to take. However, this day is destined to be remembered by him for a long time.
Ah Boy is the debut feature of German director Jan Ole Gerst, and it was even a dissertation project at the German Academy of Film and Television. The film is simple and smooth, relaxed and natural, with a little cold humor, and there is no lack of cold thinking. The black and white picture removes the interference of color, but also embeds the melodious jazz soundtrack.
It's a good movie to enjoy with a sip of coffee, but the funny thing is that the protagonist Nick hasn't had a sip of coffee all day. In the morning, he voluntarily rejected his girlfriend's coffee, but after that, either he had no money to buy coffee, or the coffee machine was broken, or others did not allow him to order coffee, in short, it was incomparable. The director used this kind of mischievous trick to tease Nick, which seemed to be the epitome of his day. Everything was difficult, but there was nowhere to vent. In the final analysis, it is all the fault of confused youth.
Nick originally studied law, but he had no interest in it. He dropped out of school two years ago without telling his parents. Since then, he has lived a leisurely and idle life with the tuition given by his father. But this day, he encountered a lot of bad things. After getting up, I broke up with my girlfriend; I wanted to get my driver’s license confiscated because of drunk driving, but was made trouble by a psychologist; I moved to a new house, I met a lonely and eccentric neighbor; I wanted to withdraw money, but the card was swallowed by the ATM machine When I asked my father for money, my father dismantled the diorama that he dropped out of school; in the subway station, he escaped the ticket due to a malfunction of the ticket machine, and was almost arrested by the subway police; when I went out with my friends, I ran into my childhood female classmate, but I didn’t expect to be caught by such a sensitive person. The girl turned hot and cold with a confused face; finally, at night, she ran into a drunk old man in a bar. I took him to the hospital, but he couldn't be saved.
For Nick, it was a frustrating and ridiculous day. Although there are occasional warm moments, such as at the grandmother of a drug dealer, he felt the care given by an old man he had never met, but more often he was confused. When we are in our youth, we will always look into the distance without knowing it again and again, and we are full of longing for the road in the distance, even though it appears and disappears, it is full of confusion. Sometimes it's like being surrounded by dense fog, the kind of confusion and helplessness that only I can understand. Nick feels lonely, ununderstood, confused and helpless, but who's youth is not confused?
"Ah, Boy" reminds me of the classic "Graduate", which also reflects the confusion of youth, but compared with the latter's rebellious and rebellious emotions, this film is more profound and subtle. Nick is not a playboy, he has his own views on many things, and he is actively or passively thinking about life, but he also compromises and chooses compromises like most of us do. Young people in every era will have their own confusion, but has there ever been a time when the world has changed as rapidly and wildly as today's world? Before young people can clarify their thinking and find the right direction, are adults too impatient and kind?
In the early morning of the next day, Nick sat in the cafe, facing the faint sunshine, and finally drank a long-awaited cup of coffee. Although a little lonely, despite being confused and helpless, Nick still needs to face it bravely, because this is youth, not for others, but for himself. As the American writer Anna Kunderland said: "You are confused in youth, don't have too many desires, don't be too impatient, take your time, what belongs to you will appear on the road you want to walk. You will understand of."
View more about A Coffee in Berlin reviews
