What: Easy Love
Where: German Film Festival at Palace Nova
When: Last screening 6 June
Tickets: Here

“No actors, no script, no fake emotions” was the line that sucked me in. While Easy Love definitely felt like it was made with actors and a script, admittedly the emotions felt real. Following a number of young people in Cologne, Easy Love is a “semi-controlled study” of the way in which they are navigating relationships directed by Tamer Jandali.

We meet Nic (Niclas Jüngermann), an older man who, to be honest, seems like a bit of a dickhead. He’s fallen in love for the first time in a long time.

There’s Stella (Stella Vivien Dhingra), a woman whose feelings are beginning to get hurt, even though she declares she truly believes in polyamory.

Sönke (Sönke Andersen) is in love and she is moving to a new city to be with her. When she realises that she’s the first woman her girlfriend has dated, she gets uneasy.

And finally, Sophia (Sophia Seidenfaden). She’s recently moved back in with her mum and uses Ohlala, an app where men pay for dates.

Easy Love is enticing at the outset and follows topics that sound fascinating. However, it’s a bit of a disappointment. While I’m usually a big fan of dialogue-heavy films, this one struggles to go anywhere.

Saying that, the characters all feel real and have real and relatable struggles. They are each lost and looking for guidance in some form or another. Is finding love really possible? Is it possible to balance liking someone, being attracted to them, and getting on with them? These are Big Questions, and Easy Love proves that there is still no easy answer.

2.5 out of 5 stars

— Natalie Carfora