This run of the mill German TV movie is directed by the charming Andreas Struck, who recently came to visit us down South American Way (along with fellow gay film maker Wieland Speck, the latter honored with his own Retrospective). Andreas came to premiere his TV movie as a feature film at the heavily German-oriented Mix Brazil 200, the 8th Annual Film Festival of Sexual Diversity, which usually travels through four South American cities in November/early December................ The organizers may as well have added the qualifier; "- and showcase of the German gay film and 20th century history" to the Festival's title. Following last November's premiere of Rosa von Praunheim's EINSTEIN OF SEX, and the neo-Nazi skin head OI WARNING!, MOLOCH, and several other rather extreme examples of German film and history, Sao Paulo's film and history buffs were treated to an unprecedented follow up this year............. It was in this context that CHILL OUT was presented. As part of this extraordinary Teutonic feast of sexually charged, educational and homo erotic film making, it was unfortunately put to shame; just way out of its league. Premiering the same day a controversial showing of Leni Riefenstahl's "Olympia II, Festival of Beauty" coincided with the South American premiere of the acclaimed documentary "Paragraph 175," CHILL OUT clearly came off as amateurish and banal. Even without the formidable competition from its counterpart German features shown, the other (French, Japanese, South African, Brazilian, but mainly American) films and shorts, the other 'sexually-diverse' films, already acclaimed at Sundance, Berlin, and throughout the world, were clearly in another league........The directors of this Festival are very Berlin-oriented, and CHILL OUT obviously rode on Berlin's coat tail. It is an average TV movie to be seen on a cold night, at home, and expecting the now standard 'love triangle' of the '90s and '00s, with the equally pervasive themes and locales of re unified Berlin, its reconstruction and transformation.......... As a Germanophile, I found it tolerable. Most of the sold-out audience sat through out as a sign of respect to the director, and expecting the heavily-hyped electronic sound track, which, sadly, was about as unimpressive as the film. Its not-long 91 minutes seemed merciless as the plot thickened with sub plots of chance happenings, accidents, stolen credit cards, and a very contested last will and testament....The director is a really nice guy though. And I think he enjoyed his first trip to Brazil. Outside this festival setting with a captive audience, however, I think the film would be unwatchable.
