Afire – 7.7

A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Loser. Leon is an aspiring author who is insecure and nerdy: he always wears long black pants, even to the beach. The movie is about how he navigates among four self-assured companions at a seaside retreat. Answer: not very well. The characters are well drawn and Paula Beer is a wonderful actress: when she smiles her eyes jump off the screen. This is a character study and not a major Christian Petzold, a la Barbara or Transit, but still a serious film.