We’re not sure if young American filmmaker Yony Leyser based in Berlin is aiming to be a modern day Christopher Isherwood with his first feature that sets out to show a slice of the contemporary edgy queer scene in Berlin, but he obviously used the great man of letters as his inspiration.

Leyser’s improvised story is loosely based on his real life experiences, and is the tale of Sasha (Tim-Fabian Hoffman) an unhappy Russian rent boy hustling for Clients amongst the middle-aged patrons of Berlin’s seedier gay bars.  We first meet him when he is picked up by Ezra (played by Leyser) for a romantic/sexual liaison, but when it is clear that this is going to lead nowhere, they become friends.  Ezra introduces Sasha to his small group of free-spirited hedonistic pals who happily experiment with drugs and sex with an unleashed passion and where he finally feels free to be himself.

It turns out that Sasha’s happiness is a case of gender dysphoria, and most of the rest of the movie deals with her gradual transitioning.

Most of the sparse plot is slight to say the least, and by shooting in real bars on the fly, Leyser focuses on making this much more of a snapshot of a lifestyle that has attracted this rather eccentric international bunch of queer folk to settle in Berlin. It’s a homage to a city he obviously loves, and to a culture and its roots that he feels deeply connected too (the famous German film director and gay rights activist Rosa von Praunheim has a cameo role).

What is particular impressive however is the rather brilliant music that Leyser uses throughout the movie, and this more than anything shows not only how vibrant performance art is in the city but also how it has a vibe that is so unique to Berlin. As well as including an appearance from Nina Hagen the Godmother of Punk, there are two big body-builders Elektropunk musicians called Rummelsnuff which are quite unlike anyone else we have seen.

The low-budgeted Desire Will Set You Free is by no means a masterpiece, but it does have an energy and a vitality that should be enough to forgive Leyser for some of the movie’s rougher edges, and simply be really appreciated and enjoyed for what it is.