Vincent Wants to Sea (2010) User Reviews

Wanderlust

[Pippi_langstrumpf · 8/10 · 23 April 2010]

Vincent, a young man who suffers from Tourette's syndrome, has just lost his mother. His father, a successful politician, does not want to take care of him and therefore places him into a mental institution. He is put into a room with Alexander, a guy with a compulsive disorder, and is shown around by Marie, an anorectic girl.

This could be the start of a depressing film with problem-ridden antiheroes, and indeed the three protagonists suffer because of their mental illnesses. Vincent once says to Marie: "I've got a clown in my head who craps between the synapses; you just have to eat something and everything will be fine." However, a very funny road movie starts when Marie manages to steal the key of the tattered car belonging to Dr Rose, the director of the institution, and they drive away, heading to Italy. Of course, Vincent's dad and the director want to bring them back and follow them in Vincent's father's posh car, a shiny black BMW with a lot of oomph.

You can see the two young men struggling with their illnesses, and Alexander even seems to be able to forget about his anxieties. Vincent explains that he can feel his tics coming, but he cannot prevent them. "Can you decide not to sneeze?" When under pressure, he is in the grip of his tics and shouts obscenities. The three young people become friends, and when Vincent's father and the director find them rather soon, they sneak into the BMW and continue their trip.

All along they get into funny situations because they cannot pay at the petrol station or because Vincent flips out, or when you see how Dr Rose and Vincent's father, as different as they can be, have to put their heads together – and that just makes you laugh, but the film is also thought-provoking when Vincent, Alex and Marie talk about their problems, and touching when Vincent's dad tells Dr Rose about Vincent's childhood.

If you expect a sugar-coated happy ending with Marie and Vincent or Dr Rose and Vincent's dad falling in love, all cheerful and without mental problems, merrily reunited, you will be disappointed. However, Vincent's father has not only geographically travelled to find his lost son: he indeed comes mentally closer to him and no longer considers him to be a loser.

If you want to see a film that makes you laugh without your having to stop thinking, go and watch it. It is definitely entertaining and gives you food for thought at the same time.

Can you fix broken?

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 6 June 2020]

One of the better German movies that was made in this new millenium. Without having done any background check or seen any documentaries on the making off, the performances here speak for themselves! Research was done and the people involved really give it their all. Not easy to do and maybe even harder to watch at times. But quite essential as far as dramas go.

While you may charge this for being predictable at times, it also does dare to go places you don't see it going. So not just because this is a German movie am I pleasantly surprised, but just as a movie in general, this has quite some merits to deliver and show the viewer. Highly recommended for anyone who even remotely likes a good drama with convincing performances to say the least (not a given with many German movies)

Some wrong turns

[rhondasmit · 6/10 · 16 April 2015]

First the good: The acting is engaging and the photography is, at times, inspired. The subtitles are very good translations (I am a native German speaker).

Unfortunately, the storyline is trite - "oddball outcasts find strength and friendship during an impromptu road trip" - still, what could have been a new angle on this oft-told tale, or a really engaging film about the struggles of young people who don't quite fit into our 'normal' and are marginalized, is ultimately neither.

For me the most regrettable fail occurs just when I was ready to make an emotional investment in the main character; the protagonist (MINOR SPOILER HERE) chases and hurts some rude kids. This might have been forgivable had the protagonist not been 27 years old, more than twice the age of the kids (who were impudent but no physical threat). The movie continues as if nothing untoward had occurred, which troubled me even more. Even allowing that this was a set up for the road trip, the casual dismissal of violence against children made me uneasy. Worse, later on there is more unjustifiable physical violence.

Similarly the rest of the movie vacillates between humorous lightness and harsh realities, and that, along with the uneven pace and the (for me) awful choice of musical score (except the classical music, which I liked) left me with the impression that I had just watched a glossy 'After School Special' with a confusing message.

I would have given the movie a 6.5, but didn't feel it merits rounding up to 7.

A perspicacious story about syndrome, marginality and fragile recovery

[gaiadam933 · 25 December 2010]

Three disabled, two men and a girl, one, a Tourette's syndrome sufferer, the second, an obsessive, the third, an anorexic, run away from a rehabilitation center, and change at least temporarily their behavior, when togetherness obliges them to make a switch in their life. Even the hero's father and the psychologist, who are going after them, pass from a relation of enmity to a friendly one. Pop music, speed of vehicles, the impact of Alps panorama, and brilliant photography, contribute in moving spectators to share the enthusiastic but momentary deliverance of the characters in their journey to the sea. The rhythm of the film is built using a wise dose of humor and sadness, candor and cruelty, beating movements of the camera, and contrast through alternative sequences of pursuers and pursued, showing the mad side of the normal and the sane side of the sick. The unusual expression of emotions in the faces and in the gait of the characters produces a sense of fresh spontaneity. The five principal actors make an exact performance. An overall idyllic atmosphere attenuates the underlying tragedy. Incredibility of certain scenes (the trio at the top of the cross; Alexander, the obsessive, conducting an imaginary orchestra) paradoxically succeed in convincing us, due to their sublimity. Catharsis is here an issue of giving up the hope of complete recovery. It's a movie that moves you to see it.

Decent road movie with ill protagonists

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 7 December 2015]

"Vincent will Meer" or "Vincent Wants to Sea" is a German 90-minute movie from 5 years ago and let me start by saying that I quite like the English title as well. This film won Best Picture at the 2011 German Film awards plus Best Lead Actor. I thought Florian David Fitz, who was also nominated for the screenplay, played the part well. Not sure if the win was justified, but the nomination certainly was deserved. However, I am a bit baffled by the nominations of the two older actors in the supporting category. Ferch resembled Fitz physically so that the father-son story made sense, was solid and at least had a couple decent father-son talk moments, but nothing great, while Müller-Elmau was entirely forgettable in my opinion. So you already see that I did not like the scenes between these two very much, but I guess they had to include them to keep the film at 1.5 hours at least.

The scenes with Fitz, Herfurth and Allmayer were certainly superior. Some funny moments, some sad moments and decent drama that carries the film from start to finish. Sometimes the illness of Fitz' character did not feel entirely authentic, but only included for the story in terms of when it appeared and when it did not appear and not the other way around, but mostly it was fine. Herfurth is reliable as usual too and Allmayer did what he could with what he was given. I am not too sure if I liked the ending. I certainly liked that they did not go 100% for a happy ending that would have felt forced with what happens to Herfurth's character, but something was missing to really win me over here in terms of the ending.

I saw this one the first time briefly after it was released I think and I remember liking it more back then than on this rewatch today, but it was still a decent watch in my opinion. There are some good moments, some not-so-good, but overall the positive outweighs the negative and I recommend it. The music could have been a bit more impactful I think, but Huettner's experience behind the camera shows. If you can look past the unrealistic scenes like the trio still sticking together after one of the guys beats the crap out of another, then you will have a good time watching this one. Thumbs up.

A classic.

[brsger · 8/10 · 21 January 2024]

Fitz at his best. Some of his movies and/or performances in the last couple of years might not have been the best. But here, he's great.

Herfurth's performance shows why she's part of Germany's A-List. Allmaywe is underrated. Although he doesn't have the same "star-power" or pull factor as the other leads, he is more than solid. Fetch does a good job as well. Müller-Elmau is a bit too over the top for my taste.

At the end of the day. This is a German classic. A road movie, a rather unsurprising conclusion, known tropes and the most generic type of plot structure. But it works!

Doesn't break any ground. But works great for what it is.

8/10.