Summer Storm

DRAMA

Starnberg Rowing Club is the pride of its small Bavarian burg, with a winning streak partly attributable to much-liked, easygoing coxswain Tobi (Robert Stadlober). But he's preoccupied at present by feelings of more-than-brotherly love toward best friend and teammate Achim (Kostja Ullmann). Yet Achim's sexual-romantic interest seems much more magnetized by girlfriend Sandra (Miriam Morgenstern). Tobi hedges bets by pretending to be interested in Sandra's own best friend, Anke (Alicja Bachleda-Curus), a beauty who's smitten with him despite some very conflicting signals. These various yearnings and tensions push toward extremis when the Starnberg boys' and girls' teams go to a special competitive rowing camp in the countryside — where the unexpected presence of a Berlin team called Queer Strokes only heightens Tobi's desire and discomfort. There's nothing conceptually original, or cinematically very interesting, about Marco Kreuzpaintner's first feature. We've seen variations on this bittersweet teenage coming-out saga many times before. But before long, the nuanced writing, perfect performances, and low-key direction prove so winning, the emotions so well-earned, that Summer Storm becomes as hugely satisfying as it is, admittedly, familiar. (Dennis Harvey)

SUMMER STORM opens Fri/17 at Bay Area theaters.