Light Gradient

Two young men, Johann and Robin, take a trip into the countryside. The more they penetrate the forests of Brandenburg, the stranger their adventure becomes. Bikes disappear, maps prove useless – and each gets to know a completely different side of the other. Johann and Robin regard the new situation as a kind of sporting challenge. They allow themselves to just go with the flow.

After several days of hiking, the two lads arrive at an old farmhouse inhabited by a woman and her adolescent son. The men receive a surprisingly warm welcome and soon begin to share the small family’s daily routine and their secrets. For a while they enjoy an enchanted round of excursions and storytelling, flirting and games – until one day the new companions get too close for comfort. Johann and Robin are flung out of their refuge and back into the world at large.

This film tells the story of a journey of two men, travelling light, searching for the truth beneath the façade, for fairy-tale moments in the heart of the countryside, and for a natural gay relationship far from the madding crowd. –berlinale.de