Phantoms of July

Julian Radlmaier's 2025 German film is set in a small east German town. Ursula, a waitress, and Neda, an Iranian video maker with a broken arm, both work precarious jobs and both feel stuck. On a summer evening the two stories separate. Ursula falls for a musician up from the city; Neda becomes certain she has seen someone she knew in Tehran and goes after her. The film drifts out of realism into a ghost story. The tone carries a dry humour, and the narrative places its political references without spelling them out. The budget is small and the form plain. Who it's for: those who like German independent cinema and films with an odd tone. Who it's not for: viewers expecting explanation; the film keeps the line between real and imagined blurred.