“Vincent Wants to Sea” is a German-made story of escape and healing, both real and imaginary from director Ralf Huettner.  The original German title: “Vincent will Meer.”   Vincent’s a young man with the socially isolating Tourette Syndrome,  who’s mourning his mom’s death, and also has to deal with his dad.  A dad whom he barely gets, and who barely gets him.  With all this in his head and heart, he simply wants to escape or vacation to the sea.  In Italy.  Where his mom finally wanted to be.

Troubled young people on a roadtrip in "Vincent Wants to Sea" (courtesy Boston.com)

But he’s left with his dad.  Vincent’s (Florian David Fitz) tics seem to be worse with his mom gone and his dad not.

This worthwhile small German story is showing at the Lagoon Cinema from August 12th.

Vincent’s Alpha-male dad, Robert (Heino Ferch), fits a stereotype.  He doesn’t understand, how to help his son, or even want to.  When life events clash with his plan, as with a dead wife and a troubled son, he acts like a child: picture Gordon Gekko’s infantile outbursts in 1987′s “Wall Street.”  Robert  finagles a spot in a therapeutic clinic, and drops his son there.

Soon after, Vincent clashes with his obsessive-compulsive and anti-social roommate, Alexander (Johanne Allmeyer) and might click with a curious, coy anorexic woman, Marie (Karoline Herfurth).  But the clinic is too much for this odd, needy fledgling couple.  Vincent and she decide to seize and flee in the doctor’s car, and take the at-times man-child Alexander with them so, he doesn’t tattle.  They become a surprising team.

A healing, erotic connection? (courtesy fanpop.com)

After the clinic’s doctor, Dr. Rose (Katharina Muller-Elmau), tells Vincent’s dad about the incident, he comes to help her bring them back.  The duo cooperates to find the trio.  They also become a team of sorts.  Their teamwork is the sort, which we’d expect to amount to kisses and more.  But maybe not.

“Vincent Wants to Sea” is a simple, amusing road trip with wit.  Laughter marks the teams’ run-ins with car theft, petty gas station robbery and car accidents.  There are touches of 1986′s “Stand By Me,” albeit with different brush strokes on power, self-discovery and adventure from that.