There’s a sex comedy lurking at the heart of Tom Tykwer’s new film about a long-term hetero couple in Berlin who both, unbeknownst to each other, begin seeing the same other man. But the stylishly quirky shell it hides within is so good-looking, inventively plotted, perfectly cast and in tune with the times that it’s only as the credits roll that we realise.
This is Tykwer’s first true indie outing since Run Lola Run. Hanna (Rois) and Simon (Schipper) are a modern, childless urban couple. Their relationship is solid, affectionate, and buoyed by a shared sense of humour. Still, there’s a restlessness in their 20-year-old affair that we first detect in Hanna, and when she meets a research biologist called Adam (Striesow) and then bumps into him on two separate occasions, the coincidence fosters an erotic spark between them. A night of passion follows – precisely the night when Simon is diagnosed with testicular cancer and subjected to an emergency operation. Recuperating with some swimming workouts, Simon meets the metrosexual Adam at the pool – and is surprised to find himself attracted to him.
Stylishly shot, Three is an intelligent comedy that takes its characters’ intellectual and cultural curiosity on board with wry scrutiny but without ridicule. - Lee Marshall, Screen International
Presented in co-operation with the Goethe-Institut Irland