In July

Basically an understated, shaggy-dog romantic comedy, and an inconsequential one at that, the film is played with near effortless assurance. Daniel (Bleibtreu) is a bespectacled Hamburg student teacher. A market vendor (Paul) sells him a lucky sun ring, which he soon matches with the image on the dress of a lovely Turkish tourist (Üner) he meets for the night. It's the holidays, so he decides to return the visit. En route to Turkey he picks up the same, now hitch-hiking street vendor; is picked up by a nutty Serbian woman trucker (Katic) and a Turkish driver (Kurtulus) with a body in his trunk; loses two cars, his wallet and passport, and gets the wrong side of several nations' border guards. The cast are extremely confident, and there's a winning soundtrack, fine photography and never a longueur.