303 is a German road-trip movie entailing a budding friendship that evolves between Jule (Mala Emde) and Jan (Anton Spieker) during a trip they eventually come to share traveling from Berlin to a few cities in Europe. Jule is a biology student and is stricken by the fact of her failing her exam and to add to the turmoil finds out she is pregnant. In order to meet her boyfriend, Alex, she sets out in her Mercedes Hymer 303 motorhome to Portugal, where he is writing his doctoral thesis. En Route she finds Jan, a political student who wants a lift to Cologne. Jan too having issues of his own is traveling to Spain to see his biological father, whose existence Jan wasn’t aware of for a long time. Initially, reluctant Jule agrees to share her motorhome with Jan and on their journey, they go on to discuss & argue about everything that comes to their mind. With these insightful conversations, they get to know each other well delving deep into these discussions showcasing their emotions. Ultimately, they come to confide in each other and like each other’s company.
The premise of the film is perfectly set for a road trip movie, with the characters having an unpleasing backstory and are looking for introspection, waiting to find themselves. On that part, the movie excels with straightforward writing communicating everything via a fair portrayal on-screen. Director and screenwriter Hans Weingartner does a reasonable job giving a satisfactory output one would expect from such a movie. Another thing peculiar and interesting is the dialogue and the premise of the conversations that it includes. Unlike other films, the conversations are nowhere about the characters themselves but they still succeed in conveying the emotions and depth of the characters. Lastly, the music complements the story and is placed very well.
While the movie starts pretty well breezing with the calm and slow movie playing out, there is a sense of anticipation of the moving going somewhere, but it never comes not reaching its ‘destination’. The two characters are obviously expected to share the screen for a good share of the movie, but the inclusion of a character or two whilst on the trip would have given a good dynamic to the movie. Since the filmmakers chose to keep the focus only on the two primary characters a little more would have been expected from the two lead actors.
It is surely not the best of movies nor does it come to be among the worst ones on the opposite side of the scale. So, in conclusion, it won’t be a big miss if you choose not to see it. But if you love slow movies with the road-trip playing in the backdrop, you surely won’t be disappointed.
Acting- 7
Casting- 7
Cinematography- 8.5
Dialogue- 9
Directing- 8.5
Editing & Effects- 6
Sound & Music- 8.5
Story- 7.5
Storytelling- 6.5
Rating- 7
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