Vamos a la Playa

Students Benjamin (Leonard Scheicher), Katharina (Victoria Schulz), and Judith (Maya Unger) travel to Cuba to find Katharina’s missing brother, Wanja. But this mission quickly takes a back seat—Katharina is looking for sexual adventures, for which she’s even willing to pay. Benjamin is searching for true love. And Judith doesn’t really want a relationship at all. When the Cuban dance instructor Ignacio shows up and throws the trio’s dynamic into disarray, everyone becomes increasingly entangled in emotional contradictions, sexual desires, and genuine feelings. In the process, the clichéd projections of the Western tourists increasingly clash with the complex reality of economic inequality on the island. Director Bettina Blümner (“Prinzessinnenbad”) often deliberately lets the film’s scenes “breathe,” allowing a relaxed, summery atmosphere to unfold. This restraint in the direction ensures that the characters remain in the foreground and their relationships—in the constant “push and pull” of attraction—come across as believable. “Vamos a la Playa” is a sunny, lighthearted, atmospheric roundelay of relationships that makes you long for the sea—or the pool—while still maintaining a keen eye on social inequalities.