German director Andreas Dresen has made an oddly buoyant little film about loneliness: Part Sex in der City, part Dogme doldrums, Summer in Berlin is most affecting as a character study of two women in their late thirties.
The low-key realism is so meticulously maintained that Summer in Berlin feels somewhat trivial. There is nothing larger here than meets the eye. It is "Sex and the City" on a stringent budget with fewer characters.
50
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Nothing much is original in this soggy tale of two German women whose friendship persists despite adversity and their own bad choices.
50
VarietyDennis Harvey
VarietyDennis Harvey
The modest splash made by Andreas Dresen's Dogme-styled 2002 drama "Grill Point" raised expectations his projects since haven't quite met, including the new Summer in Berlin.
50
New York PostV.A. Musetto
New York PostV.A. Musetto
The result is entertaining but hardly memorable.
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The movie tends to wander between story lines and characters without any real sense of purpose.