

Director: Sebastian Schipper
Cast: Daniel Brhl, Jrgen Vogel, Sabine Timoteo

Synopsis
Despite being a highflyer in his company, the pensive loner Karl (Daniel Brhl) is tasked to work as a car transfer driver at the airport simply to provoke him. He gets acquainted with a happy go lucky but loquacious Hans (Jrgen Vogel). How will the friendship develop? And will Karl life change at all?

My thoughts

-- Although the pacing in the beginning is kind of slow, and audience who have not read the synopsis may be wondering where the film is going, the film soon seduces with its realistic, but hilarious and delightful depiction of a budding friendship. The scenes/events/dialogues are credibly familiar, and hey, it could happen at any country and any place between two friends ... ... Worth mentioning, I have to credit Jrgen Vogel for his marvellously portrayed persona (at least I think it is so different from The Free Will). As for Daniel Brhl, I think he has a tougher role, but he kinds of pull it off (though not a wow) ...

-- Ok, this next para is going to be contentious ... as we debate again whether we should credit a film for what we can get out of it ... or whether the director has the intentions initially ... anyway, this will bring my rating of the film from "worth watching" to "recommended" instead ... without revealing the story too much ... the film may be "re-interpreted" as a story about Karl and his "alternate" self ... after all, the first scene begins with a scene from the later half of the film and it depicts a pensive Karl at the side of a heavy traffic with many cars speeding past ... 

thnks to the poster at imdb, he even suggested scenes of familiarity with The Fight Club ... 

* major spoiler *
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441762/board/nest/57987927
* end of major spoiler *

Conclusion: 
Skimming the surface (and plain narrative), the film may simply pass of as "worth watching". Anyone who longs for a close friend will love the development of friendship between the two protagonists (largely credited to Jrgen Vogel). 

But on deeper thoughts, if the film is reinterpreted by understanding Hans as the "alternate" Karl, we have to credit the director and script writers. ... But because it does not reveal this explicitly, many will simply walk away with the basic plot without pursuing further ... 

While some may love the film for its many comical moments, some may dismiss the film as familiar or cliche. For me, the film works slowly but by the end, I actually enjoyed the film ...