VINCENT WANTS TO SEA – The Review

Ah, the call of the open road! The old wanderlust has grabbed many movie characters from Harry and Tonto to the Grisswalds. Some of them hit the road to also fulfill a mission like Jake and Ellwood Blues. And a few are trying to get away from an institution or facility like McMurphy and his guys or Michael Keaton’s DREAM TEAM. The trio in Ralf Huettner’s new film VINCENT WANTS TO SEA encompasses all those groups. This quirky road picture  is German-made and is about a European excursion. And like many of these other films, it’s not about the destination-it’s about the journey.

We first meet Vincent ( Florian David Fitz ) attending the funeral of his much beloved Mother. After several unfortunate verbal outbursts, he races out of the memorial service-he has Tourette’s syndrome. Later Vincent’s estranged father, an ambitious politico ( Heino Ferch ), checks him into a mental health facility run by Dr. Rose (Kathartina Muller-Elmau ). There Vincent is assigned to share a room with Alex ( Johannes  Allmayer ), who has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The next day Vincent is given a tour of the grounds by Marie ( Karoline Herfurth ), an anorexic. Later she visits Vincent and shows him that she has grabbed the keys to Dr. Rose’s car. They should take a trip! But where? Vincent has a plan.  His mother’s ashes in a candy tin which he smuggled into the facility. He wants to release her ashes off the coast of Italy which Mom loved dearly. As they are about to depart, Alex shows up and threatens to report them. They grab him and speed away. Soon Dr. Rose calls Vincent’s Dad and informs him of the incident. Fearing a scandal, the man drives down , picks up Rose, and heads off in pursuit. Can they catch up to the trio before they get into any more trouble and before Marie’s damaged heart gives out?

VINCENT GOES TO SEA like other road movies sprinkles a few laughs along the road as Vincent bids a final goodbye to his mother. Huettner’s crisp direction serves the story well. He showcases the beauty of the German and Italian locations while still focusing on the characters and the intimate moments between them. Fitz’s Vincent is a sensitive, gentile soul frustrated in try to control his verbal outbursts, who sometimes, unfortunately, vents his anger physically. Allmayer’s germ-phobic, Bach loving Alex gets many of the film’s laughs, but still shows his character’s sad, lonely side. Herfurth’s Marie may be the most complex and damaged of the group. At first she seems to be a free-spirited nymphet eager to share herself with Vincent. Later we witness the depths of her illness as she marches toward self -destruction. I had thought that anorexia was an American affliciction before seein this. Seems this affliction has spread around the world. Their pursuers have a great rapport as Rose is concerned over the fragile Marie while Vincent’s father lightens up and begins to try and understand his son.  VINCENT GOES TO SEA offers an interesting look at these young people that society often labels misfits. It’s certainly a trip well worth taking.

Overall Rating: Four Out of Five Stars