Desire Will Set You Free

2015

• Feature

• 93 min

LGBTQ, Drama, Romance

Directed by Yony Leyser

Journey deep into the free-spirited, drug-fueled, queer paradise of contemporary Berlin. A struggling American writer meets a Russian immigrant escort, and introduces him to his world. As they venture through Berlin's layered history and unique subculture, their relationship takes new form, and inner desires threaten to disrupt it all. Featuring Amber Benson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and appearances from musicians Peaches, Dev Hynes (Blood Orange), Rummelsnuff and Nina Hagen.

Reviews

I found the overall package more interesting as a moment in life, a coming-of-age tale set within a backdrop of Gregg Araki and Candy Darling name drops, in-between drugs and über-Eurotrash club performances. It's a polarizing slice of a new subculture, about those who can afford to find themselves abroad—and live inside mise-en-scene that seems like the project of an entire arts school. The movie is too vibrant to be overlooked, even if some viewers might walk away from (or out of) it with their brain matter in their hands.

www.RogerEbert.com

A softer version of John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus with a sparkly, synth-y soundtrack featuring Peaches and Blood Orange, Desire is the story of a privileged American writer from a Palestinian-Israeli background who meets a naive Russian prostitute. Shot in and around Berlin's classic nightlife haunts, like Berghain, Roses, and Ficken 3000, and cast mostly with real people playing themselves, it sometimes feels like a documentary.

I-D Magazine

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