Nothing Like Before

They’re all 19 years old, they go to the same school and they’re all in the same rut. Teo won’t accept responsibilities and is facing expulsion. Renata plays hooky and prefers working nights in a café to earn money for her divorced mother. Anicka and Nikola are making a real mess of things at Memphis Beach, the hotel in Greece where they're interning, and the unpleasant owner makes them mop the floors. All of them are growing up in the Czech border town of Varnsdorf, and there aren’t many opportunities to be had. The idea of independence is tempting, but these young people aren't quite ready for adult life. They're all at a turning point, and the lively montage reflects the adolescents' restlessness and lack of direction. The protagonists in each of the three chapters are filmed at their most vulnerable moments, and their conversations are strikingly natural. Together with directors Lukas Kokes and Klara Tasovska, we're right in there with them.