“A fascinating film that both invigorates the viewer as we travel through this unfamiliar terrain with the protagonist, and sits with us long after its hauntingly beautiful final moments.”

Between the thickets and a river sit half a dozen teenagers, so insistent on their steadfast rebellion against the status quo that they are willing to forego any and all sense of social decorum just for the thrill of feeling like they are subverting expectations and doing everything that would unsettle those in charge. Amongst them is Simon, and while his escape is similar, his reasons for rebellion seem much more ambiguous, as we come to learn through his failure to connect with the libertine youths surrounding him. He is the protagonist of Skill Issue, in which Willy Hans (in his feature-length directorial debut) crafts a wickedly ambitious drama about a young man who joins some of his peers in a momentary escape from their humdrum existence but finds himself on the outskirts of their attempts at mischief, seeking something entirely different. He realizes he may not be able to find it until the last moment, when a mysterious girl enters the fray and throws everything into disarray and gives our protagonist some sense of direction. Bewildering in a way that encourages us to peel away the layers and actively engage with this film more than we would a more traditional examination of these same themes, and driven by some peculiar ideologies that only strengthen the overall approach, Skill Issue is a remarkably unconventional film, albeit one that rewards those willing to take the time to sit with the various enigmatic threads that are gradually woven to form the fabric of this strange but intriguing film.

Understanding precisely what Hans aimed to convey with this film is a fascinating process and one that requires us to peer beneath the surface of Skill Issue, interrogating its underlying themes and how they ultimately come to fruition in a slightly unorthodox manner. The film is essentially the story of a strange voyage undertaken by a quiet young man who seems to live in isolation. At least this is the image he portrays based on what he presents to the outside world; we the audience are merely observers who peer into his life as if we were distant onlookers, rather than having any direct access to his state of mind or even his background. He decides to join his peers in venturing into some ambiguous space between reality and a dreamlike landscape, which unsurprisingly turns out to be the foundation for a series of vignettes in which Simon and the others (referring to them as friends seems too liberal a sentiment based on the nature of their relationship) engage in bizarre acts of rebellion – nothing immoral is done, but the simple practice of swimming in a river or moments of tender flirtation feel disconcerting because of the atmosphere that surrounds them. The film gradually and methodically unpacks the psychological state of Simon, who is brilliantly portrayed with an equal blend of stoicism and intensity by the young but promising Leo Konrad Kuhn. He represents an entire generation of aimless young people who find themselves adrift, their only valid response to disappear into a state of emotional and existential ambiguity, which is perhaps the one clear line of thought that the film is willing to take as far as narrative mechanics.

Many filmmakers, particularly those inclined towards experimental and non-conformist styles of contemporary cinema, express incredulity at the idea of making the messages behind their films easily understood by viewers, and instead seek out more abstract ways of telling these stories. Hans seems to be outright opposed to the very concept of meta-narratives as a whole, and while Skill Issue does make some intriguing statements that lead us to believe it has its roots in a recognizable reality, we rarely find ourselves drawn to it as a narrative piece. Instead, it functions as a stream-of-consciousness narrative, veering towards a more esoteric tone throughout as it follows the protagonist on what appears to be an intense journey of self-discovery. While it does consist of many striking images (the compositions, both in terms of framing and colours, are quite stunning), there’s something mystical about the film’s tone that draws the viewer in, and it often works best if we are able to surrender to its attempts to place us in something of a daze. Ultimately, it’s not essential to even follow each intricate conversation or plot development, since these are proven to be quite hollow. Instead, if one can simply get a general grasp on the tone and overall mood of the film, then Skill Issue becomes an entrancing, magnetic work that is both driven by curiosity and insistent on unsettling storytelling conventions.

Films like Skill Issue, in which the images and narrative are secondary to the general atmosphere of a work, are quite rare to find, at least in terms of being able to carry such immense complexity in a seemingly small, intimate story. A story that initially claims to be about a young man navigating his identity and attempting to understand his own underlying desires, but gradually develops into something far more engaging. All of this is accomplished by taking the ennui of contemporary teenage life and filtering it through a more bespoke lens that hearkens back to a bygone era of intentionally slow, layered filmmaking, where the focus was on establishing the mood before anything else. Some of its deviations are more abstract than others, and the tone consistently shifts between dark humour and bleak existential nihilism. Neither of these are mainstays of the genre of adolescent drama, but Hans uses them to stake a claim as someone with a very strong vision of his own, and one that seems primed to be carved into a promising, exciting career going forward. Thematically complex, narratively rich and defined by a peculiar tone that reveals many complexities and uncertainties lingering beneath the surface of a seemingly idyllic small town and its inhabitants, Skill Issue is a fascinating film and one that both invigorates the viewer as we travel through this unfamiliar terrain with the protagonist, and sits with us long after its hauntingly beautiful final moments.