Lust for Life

Syrian teenagers Saeed and Hazim flee their war-torn home, heading for Europe. But the journey is arduous. Saeed can’t walk and Hazim has to carry him. The story begins on the coast of the Mediterranean and follows the two to Hamburg. There, they meet Marius, who has cerebral palsy, and are hired as his caregivers. Marius and his parents become an ersatz family to the two young refugees, although they still worry about the people they left behind in Syria. The three young men keep each other grounded as they grow up and try to find their own way – each for himself, but also together. Hazim, a normally cheerful type, suffers especially from the pressure and the trauma of his experiences. Who is carrying whom? The Swedish director Viktor Nordenskiöld followed the disparate trio for almost ten years. His portrait of this unusual friendship is a testament to the power of humanity and solidarity – and proof that some injuries are not visible at first sight.