A love story about two young disenfranchised Germans, whose romance is played out against the backdrop of Berlin’s streets, Heiko Aufermauer and Johannes Girke’s engaging and watchable film never passes judgment as this sometimes troubled couple kiss, embrace and also struggle to kickstart their young lives.
As seems rather appropriate, the film actually opens with a kiss. And a passionate one at that. Sophie and Dominik’s love story literally takes place on the streets. They are young and in love, brimming with declarations of passion and desperate to simply spend time together.
They hug, kiss, dance and eat together, but when it gets dark they drag bags through the streets to look for somewhere to sleep, settling down in the doorway of a church. He can be moody and worried – “keep your head up, my prince, or your crown will slip off,” she says to him at one point – but their life is due for a major upheaval with the news that she is pregnant.
The film follows them closely. They smoke, drink and he takes drugs with a friend. They want to plan for days when they can just chill out, but after her sister Sarah visits (Sophie is estranged from their father) she admits that she is worried Dominik will end up in Jail. He had served time as a youth, and is supposed to contact his social worker because of an incident.
He eventually heads to court and is given two years’ probation. But this coincides with better news of them securing a small apartment. His parents arrive, and although virtually silent they are clearly happy for the change in their son’s life. When Sophie eventually goes to hospital he ends up sitting outside with a friend who tells him that he will have to give up partying. But Dominik is less than enthusiastic, leading his friend to observe: ”You need to be there for Sophie.”
This young couple eventually take their baby boy home, with the film ending as they push the child’s buggy. They stare down at the innocent child before the camera changes position and looks up at them looking down, voices muted, at the child before cutting to black. We have no idea of how his young life will develop, and while there are hints of optimism, at the same time Dominik’s jittery and nervy behaviour serves up doubts.
Berlin Bytch Love is an immersive and gently engrossing film that feels at times like a worrying soap opera. Sophie especially is a charming character, desperately in love and looking forward to a settled life. It is harder to get a proper reading on Dominik, clearly a more troubled young man who needs drugs to get through life and – as far as we can see as the film ends – has little sense of what fatherhood and responsibility actually mean.
Germany, 2022, 89mins
Dir: Heiko Aufermauer, Johannes Girke
Production/International sales: Silentfilm Filmproduktion
Producer: Heiko Aufdermauer.
Cinematography: Johannes Girke, Heiko Aufdermauer, Victoire Bonin
Editors: Heiko Aufermauer, Johannes Girke
