''In July'' (german: Im Juli.) is a 2000 German-Turkish

road movie A road movie is a film genre in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the theme of alienatio ...

Plot

At the beginning of his summer holiday, a somewhat naive trainee teacher Daniel (

Moritz Bleibtreu Moritz Johann Bleibtreu (; was born in Munich, Munich, Germany on August 13, 1971. He has worked over the years as a film actor, voice actor, and film director. Bleibtreu has been a successful actor in many movies such as ''Run Lola Run, Das Exp ...

) buys a ring from a stall run by a neighbor, the aspiring artist and street vendor Juli (in German, "Juli" would be not only the month July but also a common nickname for someone named "Julia";

Christiane Paul Christiane Paul (; born 8 March 1974 in Berlin-Pankow) is a German film, television and stage actress. Paul first worked as a model for magazines such as '' Bravo''. She was 17 when she obtained her first leading role in the film '. Prior to h ...

). The ring bears a

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

symbol, which, according to Juli, has the power to lead him to the woman of his dreams, whom he will recognise by a similar sun symbol. As Juli has the ring's counterpart, and as she is in love with him, she invites Daniel to a party that evening, hoping that they will meet. Curious, Daniel goes to the party and meets Melek (

İdil Üner İdil Üner (born 1 August 1971 in West Berlin, West Germany) is a German-Turkish actress. Üner studied at the Berlin University of the Arts. She received piano lessons for 17 years—starting from the age of 6—and formal opera training for ...

), a young Turkish woman who is wearing a

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are genera ...

imprinted with a sun symbol. Convinced that she is the woman of his dreams, Daniel talks to her. Melek is only passing through and looking for a place to spend the night. After spending the evening together seeing the sights of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, Daniel invites her to spend the night in his apartment. Daniel and Melek leave the party just as Juli arrives. She sees them leave together. In her disappointment, she decides to leave town. Next day she goes to the

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track' ...

to hitch a ride, with no predetermined destination. As fate would have it, Daniel is the first car to stop, on his way back from the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

, where he has just dropped Melek off. He has decided to drive to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

in search of Melek, who, as she told him, will be under the bridge over the

Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

at a certain time a few days later, although he does not know why. Daniel takes Juli with him in his stoner roommate's rusty old car. And this is the beginning a long and exciting trip across a scorching hot

Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...

Symbolism

The film opens with an eclipse, an event in which the sun and the moon cross paths. Daniel crosses paths with Luna, whose name means "moon," and suffers the consequences. July is a sunny month.

Cast

as Daniel Bannier *

as Juli *

as Melek *

Mehmet Kurtuluş Mehmet Kurtuluş (born 27 April 1972) is a Turkish-German actor. He is best known for his work with German director Fatih Akin. Life and career Kurtuluş was born in Uşak, Turkey, and moved at the age of 18 months to Germany, where he grew up ...

as İsa *

Jochen Nickel Jochen Nickel (born 10 April 1959) is a German actor. He has appeared in more than 160 films and TV series since 1988. Life Nickel, a trained road builder, came to the stage in 1981 and was a member of the theater group Theaterpathologisches In ...

as Leo *

Branka Katić Branka Katić ( sr-cyr, Бранка Катић; born 20 January 1970) is a Serbian actress known for appearing in the films ''Black Cat, White Cat'' and '' Public Enemies'', and the TV series ''Big Love''. Career Katić debuted in the film '' ...

as Luna *

Birol Ünel Birol Ünel (18 August 1961 – 3 September 2020) was a Turkish-German actor who played in German and Turkish films, television, and theatrical productions. He was perhaps best known for his role as the alcoholic Cahit Tomruk in Fatih Akin's 200 ...

as Club Doyen *

Sandra Borgmann Sandra Borgmann (born 25 April 1974) is a German actress. Biography Borgmann is originally from Mülheim and studied German, philosophy, and history. She attended the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen and joined a theater troupe. She ha ...

as Marion * Ernest Hausmann as Kodjo, Daniel's neighbour * Gábor Salinger as Jewellery vendor in Hungarian market *

Cem Akın Cem Sultan (also spelled Djem or Jem) or Sultan Cem or Şehzade Cem (December 22, 1459 – February 25, 1495, ; ota, جم سلطان, Cem sulṭān; tr, Cem Sultan; french: Zizim), was a claimant to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century. Ce ...

as Turkish border guard *

Fatih Akın Fatih Akin (Turkish: Fatih Akın, born 25 August 1973) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent. He has won numerous awards for his films, including the Golden Bear (award), Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival ...

as Romanian border guard * Sándor Badár as Alin * Daniel Puente Encina as singer and musician. Cameo appearance with his band Niños Con Bombas.

Trivia

* The sequence of the film when Daniel and Juli travel through

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

is made up of a series of still photos, a decision taken for mainly financial reasons. * The director has a cameo as a Romanian border guard on a checkpoint of the Hungarian-Romanian border. * The director's brother Cem Akin plays the role of a Turkish border guard on a checkpoint of the Bulgarian-Turkish border. * Fatih Akin attended the school shown at the beginning of the film.

Accolades

German Film Awards German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

2001: Moritz Bleibtreu (Best actor) *

Tromsø International Film Festival The Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF) is an annual film festival held during the third week of January in Tromsø, Norway. The inaugural Tromsø International Film Festival was held in 1991. TIFF has 5 screening venues, including one ...

2001: People's choice award: Fatih Akin (Best direction) * Jupiter 2001 Jupiter (Filmpreis) – Wikipedia (Best actor: Moritz Bleibtreu; best director: Fatih Akin)

References

External links

* * {{Fatih Akın 2000 films Films directed by Fatih Akin 2000s German-language films German road movies 2000s road movies Films set in Hamburg Films set in Budapest Films set in Istanbul 2000s German films