Good Old Friends (2020) User Reviews

friends who have never met each other

[drjacobgrayson · 3/10 · 13 October 2021]

This low budget indie movie is full of static scenes with stilted, awkward conversation between people who seem to barely know each other even though they are supposed to be old friends.

Waste of time

[umtt · 1/10 · 18 October 2021]

I do not write reviews but I hope I can save a couple of people from wasting their time.

There is no plot, no character, no dialog and full of static scenes with zero cinematic. It was so dull and boring. I cant believe companies and people wasted money and time on this garbage.

Good Old Friends

[artistgp · 9/10 · 2 November 2021]

Polished Independent thriller with some nice cinematography and performances. I didn't see the ending coming. Definitely recommend if you're looking for something that's different from the Hollywood norm!

Entertaining!

[skinnyrie · 9/10 · 14 October 2021]

So I wasn't expecting that twist, we'll done. Good acting I'm still chuckling a bit from the clever humor on the story. This Indy gem was well worth my Saturday night!

An Independent Low-Budget Drama

[MovieAnalysis · 7/10 · 26 February 2022]

Good Old Friends, an independent low-budget comedy-drama film directed by Peter Kondra and Mikael Schallock, which is also their debut directorial film.

Synopsis: A reunion party of three friends takes an unexpected turn when one of them dies tragically.

Cinematic Analysis: Although this film is officially a comedy-drama, it gives you a little bit of suspense-thriller kinda experience as well. From the very first shot, it's clear that something is not alright between all three of them. Few scenes seem to be overly stretched and unnecessary but the screenplay keeps us invested and curious to know more.

Dialogues were simple. The conversations aren't that engaging at places.

I liked Peter Knodra's performance throughout the film whereas Andrej Vickers' expressions especially in the third act seem off the rails and aren't per the scenes.

The colour-grading, production design and music are impressive. The film does capture some captivating shots of the city as well. The only problem I see in the technical aspects of the film is the background noises which results in distraction.

Themes: Friendship, Murder, Alcoholism, Stress

Conclusion: Good Old Friends exceed the limits of being an indie film and is pretty enjoyable. One of its merits is its surprising ending which I didn't see coming. Definitely worth a try.

NOTE: Watch only if you can watch and accept low-budget films by new film-makers .

7/10

Follow Us on Instagram: m_movie_reviews.

A 90's-style vibe to go with your twists and turns

[adrianjettleon · 8/10 · 8 October 2021]

I enjoy watching indie films and have found some gems on Prime. Good Old Friends is one of them. Aesthetically-speaking, it has a cool 90's vibe due primarily to its stylish cinematography. It somehow has a video feel which is very appropriate for the story about friends reuniting after a few years in Berlin. The lighting and framing are really good overall and found it somewhat reminiscent of Soderbergh in his early days. Also, the shooting style is punctuated by the occasional striking shot such as the one framed up inside the beer cooler. I did find an occasional scene a bit too dark for my taste, such as the "magic box" scene, but this is a common complaint of mine even with big budget productions. I enjoyed the soundtrack and feel that it underscored the film perfectly and the Berlin setting gives the film a distinctly international flair. I believed the actors and feel they sold the "friends who grew mismatched due their individual courses in life" well. There's some great dialogue and the line "she's probably left me now," and also the part with the stripper berating them, made me laugh out loud. On a critical note, I found some of the scenes a bit long for my taste, at times the story momentum slowed a bit and some of the dialogue felt overly-improvised, which would have been sold better by shortening the scene, but all-in-all this made for a fun indie movie night with some unexpected story twists that kept things interesting.

Kept me wondering what will happen. Next

[MovieJunkies01 · 8/10 · 26 October 2021]

I didn't expect this but I enjoyed it! Love Indie films and this did not disappoint. Great acting and Directing. When I can't guess what's going to happen at the end it's a thumbs up from me. Watch to the end! Very entertaining.

A Slick Indie Thriller

[baccaruda1 · 7/10 · 7 October 2021]

I found myself trying to figure out what "Good Old Friends" had in store for me as I watched the first act, and when I guessed, I was very wrong! This story tells the tale of three old pals, getting together to hang out and party for a couple days in Berlin. But something goes terribly sideways, which changes the entire trajectory of their weekend and their interactions. The second act sags a little bit, but is brought back by a strong third act, where once again, I was surprised by the outcome. I thought the cinematography was strong, with multiple scenes that were simply beautiful to look at. The acting is strong as well, and the script gave each character a distinct personality. All in all, a fun night on Prime!

Awesome independent 90-minute film!!!

[samuelcahillfilms · 9/10 · 17 August 2022]

Good Old Friends is an independent film shot in Berlin (in English), and I absolutely recommend you watch it on Prime Video. This film has some great acting, really good directing (especially b-roll), a fantastic score and soundtrack, a brilliant script with an amazing twist ending which I didn't see coming, as well as an unexpected moment half way through the film which flips the mood of the film on its head and completely changes the rest of the story. The characters are very well written, and there are so many nods to other fantastic films, not only in the natural dialogue that flows off the characters' tongues, but also in the themes and story of the film. I honestly think this is a brilliant low budget film which I fully recommend.

Follow me on Instagram and Letterboxd: movieejunkiee

9/10.

Great Work

[mirko_peters · 10/10 · 9 September 2021]

We all know it: we meet with an old friend who leaves us empty inside. With every word they say, you can see that they live in a different world than we do. They no longer belong to our time zone and have turned into an alien being with whom it is difficult to communicate, even though we know everything about them. What have we ever done to improve their situation? The only way is to drink a lot because things have just become very unpleasant. And then the inevitable follows: The friend is forcibly left behind because he's not ready for the ride, but he takes it anyway. Who are these friends, really? Are they remnants from your past or are they just outdated versions of yourself? Have these bad leaps through life hardened your muscles and kept you from.

But most of all, you shouldn't write reviews when you've already had 6 Cokes of Wiskey.

Still, a nice hangover movie for the next crash.

Weird, stylish, exciting, what more could you want!

[Tatjana-Lommel · 10/10 · 10 September 2021]

What happens when you have spent a part of your life together with certain familiar rituals and then, after a break of many years between each other, during which you have rather completely drifted apart, you try to reconnect here, but realise to what extent you perhaps didn't really fit together back then either. Where have they gone since then and are there still things they have in common that the friendship of that time can rely on, or is none of it salvageable and leads to a common abyss?

Cool Berlin thriller

[bartlettdirect · 8/10 · 10 October 2021]

Very good thriller from this team of first time directors. I'm a sucker for anything that plays in Berlin, but I really enjoyed the filmmaker character setup with clear inspiration from Hitchcock in the storyline, Rope in particular. The many awards well-deserved.