Harry (Matthew James Morrison) is a young doctor who has chosen to spend a weekend in Berlin, taking a break from the hustle and bustle of his native London. He spends the time engaging in anonymous sexual encounters, punctuated with intense sessions at any of the local nightclubs that he can find. It’s on the dancefloor one evening that he encounters Johannes (Alexandros Koutsoulis), a shy but fascinating young dancer who instantly catches Harry’s eye, with the feeling being mutual. The next morning, the pair still haven’t drifted apart, and continue to nurture a very clear attraction. However, Harry is leaving Berlin that evening, and is wildly unprepared, not even having the means to print his boarding pass – and without hesitation, his new friend offers to help him, as well as show him around Berlin in the final few hours of his visit, which was his entire intention when it came to visiting the city in the first place. Over the course of a single day, the pair become very close, transitioning from participants in an anonymous one-night-stand, to having a much deeper connection that finds them establishing common ground. They have their own individual challenges, including crises of identity and trouble finding their place in the world – but for one fleeting day, they find someone with whom they can identify on a deeper level, forming a strong bond while knowing how finite their time together is.

While it may not have been the first time we saw films focused on prospective lovers meandering around the city, slowly growing closer over the course of a finite amount of time, the trio of Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater truly made something special with Before Sunrise and the two subsequent sequels, so much that the title is now synonymous with an entire sub-genre of romantic drama. Many imitators have emerged in the quarter-century since that revolutionary film, with different dynamics and cities being at their core. None of them are necessarily quite as good, but it’s a format that is well-loved and always reliable, as evidenced by the fact that many young filmmakers choose to follow in these footsteps. One such director is Daniel Sánchez López, whose film Boy Meets Boy is very much designed in the shadow of those wonderfully romantic stories. Undeniably a minor work in terms of the scope and message at the heart, it’s still a consistently endearing film in how it contributes to a growing body of queer-based storytelling, as well as being a relatively charming romantic drama about two young men falling in love under the shadow of the Berlin metropolis, getting to learn about each other in the few hours they are afforded together. Boy Meets Boy is a special film, one that isn’t always successful in deviating from the common tropes associated with this subgenre, but is at least willing to put in the effort to give the audience something to hold onto, even if its only a few abstract emotions that underpin the film and propel the story forward.

It is extremely easy to notice that Boy Meets Boy is a directorial debut – it has less to do with the film appearing like the work of a newcomer, and more that the simple structure and modest filmmaking contrast sharply with a very keen, progressive sense of direction that is found throughout the story. Sánchez López had only worked on a few short films before venturing into longer-form filmmaking, and Boy Meets Boy is a worthy introduction to a director who clearly has a distinct authorial voice, even with something as relatively simple as the story of two young men walking through Berlin over the course of a day. This film has all the elements that make these stories so compelling – unfurnished, direct conversations prevent any emotional manipulation (since every word and thought is laid out as bare as possible), and the intimate nature of the growing relationship between the characters makes us feel like we are observing two real people falling in love. It also helps that it is set in Berlin, one of the most fascinating cities in the world, a place that harbours many curious secrets and interesting details, most of which serve as the foundation for this film, the constant manoeuvering around this city contrasting with the main characters’ deep discussion on every subject from existential philosophy to the quality of the food they’re eating at a particular moment. It’s easy to get immersed in this world when a film is made with nothing but honesty, which is one of the strongest components of Boy Meets Boy, with Sánchez López making sure that every moment in this relatively paltry, 72-minute long drama is absolutely essential and contributes to some deeper discussion.

Boy Meets Boy is a film driven by conversation between two young men, and thus logically has to be assessed as a character-based piece that hinges entirely on the performances given by its two leads. There aren’t many other characters in the film (Sánchez López seems to be making a concerted effort to showcase Harry and Johannes as the only two principal speaking characters, rather than allowing the film to deviate into conversations with too many other people), and the focus is squarely put on these two young actors, who are tasked with carrying this entire film. Neither Matthew James Morrison nor Alexandros Koutsoulis are widely-experienced actors, the former having done some work in a few short films, the latter making his acting debut here – and in many cases with very simple independent productions, the use of unknown actors is an asset, since it aids in the intimate nature of the story by not having well-known performers in the roles, as well as being a strong introduction to these young actors, who clearly are gifted enough to carry a film as dependent on their interpretation as this. Their performances are truly mesmerizing – they may appear stilted at first (which could either be a result of their slight inexperience in the industry, or a deliberate choice made to reflect the real sensations characters such as them would feel in such situations), but the simmering passion gradually mounts to a heartbreaking crescendo. Whether in the scenes where they engage in spirited discussion, or the more quiet moments of lust-fueled desire where no words are spoken, both Morrison and Koutsoulis are absolutely extraordinary, turning in simple but effective performances that match the tone and intention of the film surrounding them.

Ultimately, Boy Meets Boy is not a film that is necessarily groundbreaking in the sense of harbouring revolutionary conversations. There’s a tendency for audiences to expect every work centred on queer characters to carry some deeper meaning about issues surrounding the community, and while this isn’t an unreasonable expectation (since so much work still needs to be done in terms of representation), Sánchez López is instead invested in something more simple, weaving together a captivating story of two young men from very different backgrounds overcoming their own insecurities and preconceived notions of romance, and falling in love, an increasingly rare phenomenon in a world supposedly driven by sexuality without romance, which serves as one of the fundamental themes of this film, contained within the conversations conducted by these two characters who find themselves being drawn closer together, knowing that this is only a fleeting relationship that isn’t meant to last, even in a world driven by social media (the film doesn’t ever indicate that these characters plan to meet again, a purposeful choice that leaves their futures entirely ambigious). It makes for truly enthralling viewing, especially for those who have a penchant for these quiet demonstrations of passion, where a subtle gesture or lingering look is enough to stir our emotions and leave us absolutely exhilarated. Boy Meets Boy is a lovely film that carries some weight in regards to facilitating discussions around identity, while still being a buoyant and endearing romance between two people who step away from reality for a few hours, and discover an entirely different side of life through engaging the other in a spirited series of discussions that reveal as much about these characters as it does the world in which they’re intentionally getting lost.