Nothing Bad Can Happen (2013)

Tore’s friend’s name is Eule – misspelt as Owl in the subs. Forgot to fix that.

AKA: Tore Tanzt
Directed by: Katrin Gebbe
Starring: Julius Feldmeier (Tore), Sascha Alexander Gersak (Benno), Gro Swantje Kohlhof (Sanny), Annika Kuhl (Astrid), Daniel Michel (Eule)
Country: Germany; Effed Up European Films
Language: German (Eng Subs); Effed Up German Movies
Runtime: 01:47:53

Plot – Spoilers:
In Hamburg, a group of young outcasts and punks call themselves Jesus Freaks. They spend their days like most of their peers, the only difference being their devotion to Jesus and belief in daily miracles. Among them is Tore, an awkward epileptic, who practices a rarely-followed tenet of the Freaks – abstinence before marriage. Tore has no discernible family and as he puts it, If I didn’t believe, I’d have nothing.

A chance meeting with the much-older Benno where Tore miraculously fixes Benno’s broken-down car sees him moving in with Benno to an allotment. Benno isn’t a believer and a little bored of his girlfriend and her kids. Initially it appears that all he’s doing by taking Tore in, is returning a favor while also seeking some grown male company. Then later it seems that Tore’s Jesus-devotion, pacifism and tendency to be obedient amuse and suit the bully in Benno. But things are waiting to turn darker, as not only does Benno have an eye on his 15-year-old step-daughter, he also has an unapologetically violent and sadistic side.

Genres: Based on a True Story, Religion, Domestic Abuse, Rape-Sexual-Violence against Men, Family, Prostitution, Old-Young, Violence Against-Animals

Massive Spoilers:
Tore’s blind faith in the Lord sees him turning into a mini-Jesus. In Sanny, there’s a Mary Magdalene who is a sort of temptress testing his virtuous flesh. In Benno lies the Devil, the serpent, deceptive and friendly while only being dedicated to breaking Tore’s resolve and faith, aided by his follower, Astrid.

Even Tore’s buddy from the Freaks, Eule, was constantly breaking their tenets while Tore was around. So, either, it’s that this German mini-Jesus inspires evil in everyone whose lives he touches, or that the whole world and Tore’s life are merely distractions in his path to enlightenment.

But there is no greater similarity here to Jesus than right at the end, where Tore literally has to die, so others (Sanny and her brother) may be saved.

About:
Nothing Bad Can Happen is reportedly based on the early-’00s case of 20-year-old, Thies F. Not sure if there was a religious angle in the real-life case, but the couple, Werner and Manuela, were initially sentenced to 8 and 4 years respectively. This was later overturned, for a longer sentence.