Written, directed by and starring Berlin expat Yony Leyser, this docu-fiction follows Ezra, an American writer of Israeli/Palestinian descent who starts seeing Russian rent boy Sasha (Hoffman). While the film is a well-shot navigation of Berlin’s underground LGBTQ scene, featuring some amusing celebrity cameos, the on-the-nose dialogue and scattershot approach to themes of identity, monogamy and the city’s multifaceted nature never let Desire amount to anything more than a slightly self-indulgent curio.
Desire Will Set You Free | Directed by Yony Leyser (Germany, 2015) with Yony Leyser, Chloe Griffin, Tim Fabian Hoffman. Starts May 5.