Old habits die hard, especially when you’re struggling and the world seems to be fighting against you. This becomes the underlying theme of German writer-director Steffen Goldkamp’s Hamburg-set drama incorporating crime and less conventional coming-of-age elements, Rain Fell on the Nothing New. After a short film screened at Venice, he makes his debut feature with the movie, which has just world-premiered in the Proxima Competition of the 2025 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

We first meet David (Noah Sayenko, whose stoic visage fits perfectly with the role’s archetype) in a juvenile prison in Hamburg, learning also that he’s served time for over two years. Soon, he’s released and tries to re-acclimate, finding solace in his girlfriend Janine (Kim Lorenz) alongside his local buddies, who one might colloquially call a “bad influence”. After being unceremoniously sacked from a restaurant dishwashing job because his boss no longer wishes to employ workers with a criminal record, David grows more desperate for money and a way to survive, turning back to his old ways.

Goldkamp uses a group of non-professional actors to craft his ensemble of characters, who become triggers and calls to action for the young man. This is certainly a story we’ve seen before in one form or another, which is not necessarily a drawback, but the film fails to develop its central tension (will David crack, or will he stay straight?) enough beyond brief interactions that sketch out the story, leaving us feeling like it has fallen short of its potential. It becomes difficult to reach into David’s interiority as we watch him, somewhat predictably, fall victim to a reform system that does not deliver any support.

Visuals thus trump story in this tale that demonstrates mastery of tone. The film’s crime-drama aesthetics are its greatest strength: Goldkamp and DoP Tom Otte capture the darkness of this underbelly with skill – particularly the dark, glowing blues of Hamburg at night, where David’s old habits begin to return and thrive. Rain Fell on the Nothing New raises highly relevant, burning social questions and has the premise to support something larger, but the script never digs deep enough into David’s plight to fully satisfy.

Rain Fell on the Nothing New is a German production by Hamburg-based Tamtam Film GmbH. Its world sales rights are up for grabs.