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| IN JULY (2000) | |
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aspiring teacher Daniel Bannier (Moritz Bleibtreu) has just finished his
last day before summer break as a substitute teacher. Daniel has
planned to stay in Hamburg over the summer sitting in solitude on his
balcony reading books about physics and listening to jazz while everyone
else is leaving for an exotic vacation. A boring stiff could sum up
Daniel's persona before he met the street vendor Juli (Christiane Paul)
who has fallen in love with Daniel. Juli urges Daniel to buy a Mayan
ring with the mark of a sun from her as she reveals for him that the love
of his life will be wearing a sun. Juli is scheming a love trap for
Daniel as she invites him to a street party, however, Daniel is unaware
Juli's affections for him and instead meets meets Melek (Idil Üner), a
beautiful Turkish girl, as Juli is late to the party.
Melek needs to find a place for the night and she is flying to Turkey the next morning. However, she unveils that she is to meet her beloved under the bridge at Bosphorus strait that divides two continents. After Daniel has dropped off Melek at the airport he realizes that he must go to Istanbul in order to meet her under the bridge. When Daniel begins his journey he sees a hitchhiker whom he picks up, and it is no other than Juli who has decided to escape her sad loss of Daniel by travel. This is the beginning of a long journey for Daniel as he is forced to leave his secure little world and do a lot of things that he would never otherwise have done. In July is a wonderful love story that offers much laughter and entertainment as the audience probably can relate to the feelings of both Daniel and Juli. Most of the story is told in a flashback as Daniel tells his tale for a mysterious man with a corpse in the trunk, which adds a level of suspense to the film. In the end, Faith Akin has directed a terrific cinematic experience that can lighten the heaviest of hearts and share some hope for those in need of a cheering up. |
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Germany |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 7/1/2004 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
