★★★☆☆Adapted from a bestselling YA novel, Jakob M Erwa’s German coming-of-age tale follows Phil (Louis Hofmann), a “gayer than average” teenager. He’s content to mooch narcissistically with his pink-haired female bezzie and hippyish, haunted mum until a smouldering new boy throws him into a tailspin. Everyone is gorgeous, and the candy-coloured reveries, hyperactive edits and bombastic musical cues nod to Amélie and the films of Xavier Dolan. It’s almost aggressively twee at times, and a subplot with Phil’s distant twin sister is underdeveloped, but there’s enough emotional nuance to elevate it above the status of escapist whimsy.

Source: The Times September 14, 2017 22:52 UTC