If someone were to ask you what or who is the center of your world, how would you answer? This question is at the heart of the new German-language "Center of My World" DVD just released from TLA. The movie is based on the bestselling 1998 young adult novel by Andreas Steinhoefel, and directed by Austrian-born Jakob Erwa. It was a popular entry at last year's Frameline. The film purports to be a gay coming-of-age Bildungsroman about a first-time love affair, but it is embedded in a troubled family melodrama bordering on the Gothic that eventually overwhelms the romance. There are too many stories operating here unsatisfactorily resolved, but there is still much to commend if expectations from this cult book are not too high.
Phil (Louis Hofmann) has returned home from a summer camp in France to his fairy-tale-like mansion located in a woodsy provincial German town damaged by a severe storm. His American-born, carefree-spirit, single mother Glass (Sabine Timoteo) and his twin sister Dianne (Ada Philine Stappenbeck) are not speaking to each other, and neither will tell Phil why. Dianne, who as a youngster was very close with Phil, is now remote, sullen, and disappears at night to an unknown destination. Phil spends most of his free time with his best girl friend, pink-haired Kat, who is anti-establishment and has them painting ice cream sprinkles on their faces or playing dress-up.
The openly gay Phil falls for a returning student, the model-like Nicholas (Jannik Shuemann), athletic and mysterious. Phil watches Nicholas on the track field and they become friendly. Phil realizes they'd met years back as kids in a grocery store. Their crush culminates in a locker-room shower scene leaving little to the erotic imagination. Yet despite encountering acceptance from his family and no homophobia from the community, Phil still wants to keep their relationship secret, especially from Kat, who initially doesn't like Nicholas. They're helped by an older lesbian couple, who let them use their guest cottage for their afternoon rendezvous.
All this upheaval is complicated by Glass beginning a new relationship with a carpenter, which brings back haunting memories of her many past lovers. Once they become part of the family, they're driven away by her, including Phil and Dianne's father, whose identity Glass refuses to reveal. Phil wants to know who his father is, but Dianne has been more emotionally damaged by the lack of a father figure. This will have devastating consequences for the family, with an unbelievable twist. Nicholas, who is not out to his parents, also has his secrets that will lead to a stinging betrayal. All of this will lead Phil to discern what is the center of his world, as he is forced to mature.
When "Center" focuses on Phil and Nicholas, the film works very well, even in this very familiar territory of a budding teen romance. The two leads are both stunning, as evidenced by several full-frontal nude scenes, helped along by no coming-out angst. Even though Germany legalized same-sex marriage last year, the total acceptance of the couple in such a small rural town seems a bit fanciful. The main problem is that both Kat and Dianne, though supporting figures, are poorly developed, yet both provide major story arcs. Dianne's revelations are especially far-fetched. Yet there is fanciful lyricism that is almost irresistible here, which makes this ideal for mature LGBTQ teenagers.
Phil's voiceover, fast editing, jump cuts, slow-motion flashbacks to childhood memories, still photos montage, and an indie rock soundtrack keep the story moving buoyantly, assisted by two standout performances. Timoteo's anguished vulnerability yet flighty encouragement make sympathetic her determined attempts to keep the family together. But Hofmann, best known here as the German POW in last year's Danish WWII Oscar-nominated drama "Land of Mine," exudes naivety as he tries to make sense of the shifting world around him. With chiseled looks, he is on his way to movie stardom. When not dark, the movie exudes whimsy; it's an ephebophile's fantasy come true. Despite its narrative shortcomings, "Center of My World" is too endearing to resist.