Es waren zwei Junggesellen: A sleepy trip to the country

Is it worth the time?

If you like movies that feel like a lazy Sunday afternoon in a village where literally nothing happens, you’ll dig Es waren zwei Junggesellen. If you need pacing faster than a snail on a treadmill, stay far, far away. This isn't a thriller, it’s just a hangout movie with a weird subplot about drinking water.

The whole thing feels oddly dusty, like opening an old book you found in an attic. You’ve got a doctor and an architect—a weird pairing, right?—wandering around the countryside. It reminded me a bit of the vibe in Lumpen und Seide, where people just talk and walk and talk some more.

The healing water thing

So, the doctor fixes a girl's arm, and suddenly he's obsessed with this mineral spring. It’s played so straight that you almost want to laugh. Like, is it medicine or is it just a local tall tale? The movie doesn't really care to answer that. It just keeps moving at its own very slow pace. 💧

There's this moment where they’re standing by the spring and the camera just sits there. It sits there for a really long time. I checked my phone twice. It’s not profound, it’s just... quiet.

• The architecture talk is surprisingly boring.
• The peasant girl is the only one who seems to know what's going on.
• The doctor’s medical bag looks like it’s made of heavy cardboard.

It’s not trying to be Alice Adams or anything with real stakes. It’s just a small, local story that probably meant a lot more to the people who made it back in the day. Sometimes, the lighting is actually quite nice, especially in the woods scenes. Other times, it looks like a stage play where they forgot to add the windows.

I found myself wondering why the architect was even there. He doesn't do much building. Mostly he just nods and listens to the doctor complain about city life. It’s a very specific kind of dull, but in a way that’s almost charming if you're in the right mood.

Don’t go in expecting a medical drama. It’s really just about two guys being confused by country life. If you’ve seen The Pie-Covered Wagon, you know the type of old-fashioned storytelling I’m talking about. It’s not great, but it exists, and sometimes that's enough. 🎬