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As Achim runs into the woods, the Queerstroke team arrives at the wharf. he rebuffed Tobi is consoled erotically by Leo (Marlon Kittel), a sensitive, curly-haired beauty.

Later, encountering Anke en route to rowing practice, Tobi finally, reluctantly, reveals to her his love for Achim. Responding to her boyfriend's homosexuality, Anke's words are measured, mature: “If you love a boy, I just have to accept it. I can't compete with that.” Everyone in this situation should have someone as composed and understanding.

Tobi's inner upheaval, worsened by Achim's rejection, rages as a storm hits camp the night before the competition. In bed with Leo, Tobi makes it through the rain as he examines who he really is. Morning brings clear skies and self-acceptance.

Tobi's team loses the competition to the Queerstrokes, but he's cleared his inner storm, and he's won a chance for honest friendship with Achim. He may not know it yet, but adolescence is ending and adulthood beckons.

Written in partnership with Thomas Bahmann, the director's screenplay is dialogue economical, allowing the characters to reveal themselves primarily through gestures, looks, and other body language.

As Tobi, Stradlober, a Montreal Film Festival Winning Actor, 2001, is excellent, helping us to understand Tobi's struggle - eliciting compassion and support for his plight. Kostja Ullmann's Achim reacts more than acts, and his approach is mostly effective - though one wonders why Tobi's kiss shocks him so, considering the erotic shenanigans in the boat house. Miss Bachleda-Curus is a lovely Anke, reflecting womanly, not girlish, wisdom.

Interestingly, the Queerstroke rowers, though not challenge exempt, are better adjusted and far more confident than their heterosexual counterparts. Oli is a swaggering braggart, relentless, vociferous in his desire to seduce Schorschi. But he's totally comfortable with himself. Leo is a sweet charmer, a romantic, and the perfect consolation prize for Tobi after Achim's rejection.

Coarse and devilish in horseplay and language, the Queerstrokers, deep down, reflect what the Greeks call agape (spiritual love), whereas the straight Bavarians, are bubbling cauldrons of adolescent angst. Throughout, PG-13-style eye candy fills Summer Storm's wide screen.

Of great value to the overall look and feel of the production is Daniel Gottschalk's lush photography that captures the movie's metaphorical nature, revealing subtext, along with the camp's woodsy beauty, and the cast's scantily-clad physiques. During the storm, as the campsite is hammered by the elements, in a series of short, overlapping scenes, Gottschalk's camera shows us the isolated nighttime netherworld inhabited by youngsters on the edge of adulthood. Hansjoerg Weissbrich edited the film to a nicely-paced 98-minutes.

Niki Reiser' musical score is pop, and features the Village People's "Go West". Nada Surf's "Blonde on Blonde" (“Cats and Dogs are coming down….”) filled with meteorological-references that open and close the film.

More than an entertainment, Summer Storm will undoubtedly help the Tobis in the audience to better understand their own inner turbulence.

Summer Storm opens Friday in San Francisco, and goes into wider release the following week.

For a complete list of show dates visit the official website

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