ENDZEIT: EVER AFTER -- Carolina Hellsgård & Olivia Vieweg's lovely zombie collaboration

If the term lovely seems misplaced in describing a zombie movie, well, you've just got to see ENDZEIT: EVER AFTER to fully appreciate how oddly appealing and attractive is this new film directed by Carolina Hellsgård with a screenplay by Olivia Vieweg, from her own graphic novel.

Oh, sure, there are the requisite zombies running around, attacking the living and eating their flesh, but there's relatively little of this, compared with the usual genre movies -- and what there is is handled smartly, with some graphic subtlety and enough suspense and surprise to pass muster.

Ms Hellsgård (shown at right) and Ms Vieweg have certainly given the film a feminist slant, with its three main characters all women, the main two of which (Gro Swantje Kohlhof and Maja Lehrer, shown below, left and right, respectively) make an odd couple who must finally bond and help each other through some very trying times. Both the two characters and the actresses who play them seem nicely in sync with the movie's themes and arc. They play off each other very well and end up growing close to each other, just as they bind the audience firmly to their spirit and plight.

In addition to its feminism, the film offers a strong humanist slant -- even as it condemns humanity for the destruction of the earth. (Just as in the current South Korean Netflix series, Kingdom, think of these zombies as a kind of appropriate revenge upon the callous, unfeeling politicians and power brokers of our world, even though we never meet the bad guys up close, as we do in Kingdom.)

The story here is fairly simple and minimal. All of Germany (perhaps the entire world) has been destroyed by the zombie plague -- except for two cities evidently smart and fast enough to fortify themselves. From one of these -- in which anyone infected is immediately killed -- the two girls hope to escape to the other, in which a cure is still sought so that at least some of the infected may be spared.

During the girl's travels we get occasional zombie interference, brief but pleasing respites, some lovely and verdant scenery, and a good amount of time spent in the local forest, during which we meet the third important character. She is played by that crackling good Danish actress Trine Dyrholm (above, right, of Becoming Astrid, Nico 1988 and The Commune), and her character -- about which I will say little -- has to do with nature and the earth's ability to maybe care for itself in a way that may remind you a bit of last year's dour waste, Annihilation, but with little of that film's pomposity, ridiculous/endless special effects and millions-of-dollars budget.

Much of Endzeit's charm, I suspect, is due to its humble stance. The production design -- interiors and exteriors -- is terrific, clearly on quite a low budget, while the rest of the technical aspects are handled just as well.

I do wish that the final appearance of one of our three characters showed a bit more in the way of wear-and-tear, given what we only recently saw the poor girl have to endure. I know a happy ending is usually a help, but please. Perhaps the finale is meant to be like waking from a bad dream?

From Juno Films, running just 90 minutes and in German with English subtitles, Endzeit: Ever After opens this Friday, June 21, in New York City at the IFC Center. In Los Angeles, look for it at Laemmle theaters: on June 27 at the Ahrya Fine Arts, on June 28 at the Royal and Glendale, and on June 30 at the Playhouse 7. Other playdates? Can't find any listed. But even if you're not on our two coastal movie capitals, eventually this one ought to find its way onto home video/digital.

Felix Randau's tale of murder, vengeance and a long road trip -- 5,000 years ago -- in ICEMAN

Der Mann aus dem Eis is the German title for ICEMAN, and as of now, that's the only way you'll find the film on the IMDB, since that site has not seen fit to update its title of the movie. After a very limited North American theatrical release this past mid-March, the movie arrives on DVD and digital streaming this week, and it's definitely worth a watch -- for both its raw and riveting revenge-set plot and its unusually fine cinematography, as gorgeous to view as it is appropriate and compelling.

The cinematography here is from Jakub Bejnarowicz, while the writing and direction come via Felix Randau (shown at left), a name new to TrustMovies but one we're sure to hear from again soon. Herr Randau's movie begins in what I believe is known as the Chalcolithic time period or Copper Age, some 5,000 years ago, as agriculture and animal husbandry were spreading from Asia to Europe and everything from language to religion was exceedingly primitive. We see what looks like a couple of one-room, made-of-wood huts and a very small community of folk who seem to live and perform as one large family.

In the first scene, a man and woman fuck, as small children run about the hut and a neighbor enters to announce something that stops the sex midway, after which the apparently alpha male goes off to hunt. Language seems minimal and is not translated via subtitles at all during the movie. Not to worry: You'll have no trouble following the story because, very soon after, three males enter the scene to kill everyone (children included), steal what appears to be an important religious icon, and then set fire to the entire community.

The fire is seen from afar by our alpha male, but by the time he can get back, all hope and life are gone. His search for the three men and his need for vengeance seem to be as much about that religious icon as about the killings, and off he goes on a road trip that lasts the remainder of the film.

If this sounds at all predictable and obvious, Iceman turns out to be more beautiful and surprising -- due to the extraordinary scenery constantly captured and the oddly occuring moments of quiet humanity found in our "hero" and others -- than it is a somewhat typical revenge thriller.

What happens along the way helps keep the film paced very well, with the quiet scenes nicely threaded among the more actionful. Performances, which require the cast to excel at playing early humanity, are all first-rate; I doubt you'll grouse about any of them, with especial kudos to leading actor, Jürgen Vogel (above), who is onscreen almost constantly and proves up to everything -- action to acting -- asked of him.

Among the few female characters, Susanne Wuest (above) registers for a moment or two early on, while the still-manages-to-be-glamorous Franco Nero (below) pops up, too, in a small but pivotal role. But it is almost entirely the rough-hewn plot, smart pacing and surprisingly real-seeming look at this unusual time period -- together with the eye-popping scenery -- that should keep you glued to Iceman.

From Film Movement's Omnibus Entertainment division, and running 96 minutes, the movie hit DVD and digital streaming yesterday, Friday, May 24 -- for purchase and/or rental.

Even seniors and movie snobs might buy Galletta/Vogt-Roberts' KINGS OF SUMMER

So bright and sunny and frisky and fun is THE KINGS OF SUMMER that I am tempted to call it a kind of Leave It to Beaver for this millennium (or maybe a Leave It to Biaggio). This new film, written by Chris Galletta and directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (shown below), is also quirky, smart and (for all its nods to the look and feel of "independent" movies) quite mainstream in its goals (parents are indeed wonderful, loving people, so there!) That it has been hit with an "R" rating is one of the idiocies of our current ratings system. (Yeah, it has some naughty language: so the fuck what?!) This one of those rare films about teens that young people ought to see, fer Chrissakes.

Telling the tale of two best friends -- one of whom decides to leave home, build a house in the nearby "forest," and live there for the summer -- who are joined by a third oddity (who is not even a friend, let alone a "best"), the movie is full of funny dialog that generally seems real, crazy situations that manage to squeak by one's disbelief threshold, all abetted by performances cool enough to pass muster with both sophisticated audiences and the peers of this movie's more-or-less teenage cast. And it's all just different enough to register as some-thing genuinely "new" in the summertime, non-blockbuster, forget-your-troubles-come-on-get-happy mode. As the guy once said, You could do worse.

As you might expect concerning teenage boys, fantasies abound, and these are well imagined, too, given that our crew has not yet experienced sex. The objects of two of the team's affection is Kelly (played nicely by Erin Moriarty, shown at bottom of post), while the parental and/or sibling roles are extremely well handled by Nick Offerman (above, right) and Allison Brie (above, left) and well-enough handled by Megan Mullalley and Marc Evan Jackson.

It is the work of the three leads, however, that makes-or-breaks the movie, and the filmmakers have cast three winners: left to right, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias and Nick Robinson. Basso has the beefy beauty and sweetness of a still virginal male, while Robinson possesses the charm and intelligence that ought eventually to make him good leading man material. But it is Mr. Arias who, more than anyone, owns the film. He is oddball joy incarnate, and while he might not be remotely believable out of this context, he certainly comes through here.

The movie is an almost coming-of-age story, in which, via puppy love and puppy rejection perceived as betrayal, real anger blooms and take its toll, and boys begin their journey to manhood. This, as all else, is handled surprisingly well and turns the tale into another chapter on the road to adulthood. We've all traveled here and so should  identify readily with feeling and understanding. I don't want to overpraise what is basically a well-done genre piece, but I think it's safe to suggest putting The Kings of Summer on your ought-to-see list now.

The movie --from CBS Films and running 95 minutes -- opens today, Friday, May 31, in New York City at the AMC Lincoln Square and Landmark Sunshine; in Los Angeles at the Arclight Hollywood and The Landmark.  On June 7, you'll find it in opening in another 22 cities. Click here and scroll down to learn which ones.