The title of this award-winning 2014 German film is a tease, since the protagonist spends the day the movie describes trying—and failing—to score a cup of joe. Would he had gotten it, and he might have been better prepared for his frustrating encounters with his girlfriends (present and possible future),his dad, the creator of an unintentionally hilarious performance art piece, and some drunken toughs, among others. As it is, he is "a victim of inertia," says Washington Post reviewer Stephanie Merry, a young man who has so far chucked his opportunities into an ocean of cool. Jan Ole Gerster's debut film, starring Tom Schilling as Niko (originally titled Oh, Boy),has created a likable if drifting protagonist and given him situations punctuated with absurd humor. You want Niko to pull himself together and for the sparks of empathy we see to flame into action. One of those flames occurs near the end of the film, when he hears a rambling, drunken tale that calls forth thoughts of people who really had it bad. Great musical score by Cherilyn MacNeil and The Major Minors.

There is a theme in the movie and I'm not talking about the growing up part. I'm talking about the part where the lead character has to make decisions. Which he is unable too. You could argue, that is part of growing up, but it's just a theme that runs through many people and will touch a nerve.

Of course the one thing our lead character wants, he doesn't get. There is always an obstacle, something that will not let him get it. For some that might feel symbolic (and the resolution this has or hasn't at the end of the movie might feel that way too),but that depends on how you view things. And that is something that has been done clever by the filmmaker here. Shooting in black and white is an art choice, but I feel it works for the general feeling of the movie

"Oh Boy" is a black-and-white Berlin-set tale of melancholy starring tom Schilling and directed by Jan Ole Gerster. For the latter it is only the second movie as director and the first in 8 years. Also, he played a minor role in making "Good Bye Lenin". So, with that non-prolific background, it was certainly a bit surprising how many awards this movie achieved and that it became the great winner at the German Film Awards that year. The movie only runs for little over 80 minutes and depicts conversations and interactions between the central character and usually one or two other people. Schilling is basically in every scene of the film. All the supporting players do a very fine job too, even if they only appear in a single scene like Schüttler, von Dohnányi, Lau or Brambach, a personal favorite. I mentioned Katharina Schüttler and I liked how the words displayed on the screen "Oh Boy" perfectly fit her interaction with our "hero" early on in the film.

I quite liked the music. The jazz performances with the black-and-white cinematography give the film a very unique, melancholic note. At the end, I somehow had the feeling that there was a parallel between Gwisdek's character and Schilling's. You basically knew nothing really about them, even if you watched Schilling the entire movie. You find out a lot more about everybody he interacts with. Gwisdek won a German Film award by the way for his one-scene performance at the end, but this may have also been a career awards. I preferred other nominees (his own son) and I also thought Ulrich Noethen gave a better performance here in this film as well. Maybe it was some kind of unofficial career achievement award or had to do with Gwisdek being born in Berlin. Lau and Schilling were as well, by the way. The biggest supporting player is Friederike Kempter ("Tatort"),who gives a fine performance as well as an attractive, but very unstable young woman.

I enjoyed this movie a lot. I don't know if you have seen any of Jarmusch's "Coffee and Cigarettes" works, but it reminded me a bit of that, only that I liked it even more. Highly recommended and it gives us a great portrayal of loneliness and life in the big city.