"Am Ende des Sommers" tells the story of a young man who has to learn the hard way that he is by no means a child of love but the product of his mother being raped. As he journeys into past, he begins to question his own identity and the connection to his unknown father.
In general the film deals with a big and important topic, the question how all involved cope with the knowledge that a child is connected to a very serious and horrible event in the past. As far as those aspects are in the foreground, the movie shows its potential to be more than just another tv film. Unfortunately, the character development pretty much runs amok. It is hard to believe that any son would have so little empathy for his own mother, especially when they were connected by a strong bond before. It is also hard to believe that a young man starts to think he has to become a rapist himself just because his father did such things. Those big emotions destroy the more subtle and far more precious questions the plot raises.
All in all this is a solid film, dealing with an important topic but trying to build the main character into something rather unbelievable and implausible. That way a lot of potential remains buried.
In general the film deals with a big and important topic, the question how all involved cope with the knowledge that a child is connected to a very serious and horrible event in the past. As far as those aspects are in the foreground, the movie shows its potential to be more than just another tv film. Unfortunately, the character development pretty much runs amok. It is hard to believe that any son would have so little empathy for his own mother, especially when they were connected by a strong bond before. It is also hard to believe that a young man starts to think he has to become a rapist himself just because his father did such things. Those big emotions destroy the more subtle and far more precious questions the plot raises.
All in all this is a solid film, dealing with an important topic but trying to build the main character into something rather unbelievable and implausible. That way a lot of potential remains buried.