Kokon

The film is well-written, well-directed and beautifully shot. It has one fatal flaw: despite Lena Urzendowsky's amazing performance and completely believable portrayal of Nora, a 14-year-old girl coming of age, Jella Haase fails to be anywhere near believable as Romy, Nora's 15-16 year old first crush and lover. She literally has very visible crow's feet and other visual cues that call to mind a fully developed post pubescent mature woman in her late 20s or early 30s. I was immediately taken aback by this when I saw her character appear on screen and I instantly knew the movie was going to force this visually awkward pairing. Romy is great as a character and is well-written and Haase'a acting is also great, again, there is also no fault with the writing or directing here, but casting an actress who is almost 30 to play 15 simply does not work in almost all cases and really hurts the cinematic realism and believability of this otherwise poignant film. This might be overlooked in vintage edgy studio films like The Graduate or Midnight Cowboy, but it sticks out like a sore thumb in a contemporary indie where cinematic rawness and realism are usually hallmarks. Otherwise, this is an excellent German film about queer adolescence in modern times.