In July (2000)

Is there something that sounds weirder that German romantic comedy? I mean, that sounds like the greatest oxymoron ever, doesn't it? And yet such movies do exist. In July (German: Im Juli.) is one of them and a pretty good one too. 

Daniel (Moritz Bleibtreu) is a young teacher who is planning to stay in Hamburg for the summer. On his way home, he meets Juli (Christiane Paul), a street vendor who has fallen in love with him at first sight and convinces him to buy a Sun ring. Said ring is supposed to bring him good luck and a woman wearing the sun symbol will be his true love. That's supposed to be Juli, of course, but he accidentally meets Melek (İdil Üner), a young Turkish woman, and mistakes her for his true love. Melek is going in Istanbul though, so Daniel decides to go there to meet her. Along the way, he unexpectedly meets Juli and they embark on quite an adventure.

The plot is very simple, not always very realistic and yet it takes several unexpected turns and twists along the way that keeps the film moving and makes the journey very interesting.

And quite frankly, I had no problem putting the logic aside for a moment -- if Germans can do it, why can't I? --, because the story is charming and quite magical. The ending is very predictable, it's a romantic comedy, after all, but the characters, you feel so invested in them, especially in Juli because of how persistent she is, that you just can't help but hope that Daniel realises he's not in love with that Turkish girl but with Juli and that the two of them end up together. And when they eventually do, after going through so much, it's so heartwarming and quite moving. (I can't believe I'm saying this stuff).

Koch-Lorber Films

In July doesn't only work as a romantic comedy but as a road movie as well. This film takes you on a very enjoyable and funny ride across Europe, switching languages on the way to Istanbul while capturing the beauty of the countries with a very nice cinematography. Or wonderful photos, in the case of Romania. According to the trivia section on IMDb, the Romanian government didn't give permission to film in their country, so they had to take photos instead, but it really works for me. It made me feel even more connected to the characters. 

The cast is also noteworthy. Moritz Bleibtreu does a very good job as Daniel, a sensitive and kind young man. He makes for a very likeable lead and his chemistry with Christiane Paul, who also gives a solid performance, is great. Solid support also comes from Mehmet Kurtulus, who plays one of the people Daniel meets on his journey, and brings charms and quite some humour into the film.