Simon Ostermann’s Sommer auf Asphalt opened in German cinemas on June 4, 2026. Mala Emde plays Les, a Hamburg bicycle courier who lives spontaneously and avoids planning. An unexpected pregnancy and the return of her estranged father Bert, played by Christoph Maria Herbst, interrupt that arrangement. A woman always on the move can no longer ride away from the major decisions in her life.
Mala Emde and an unexpectedly quiet Christoph Maria Herbst
The film depends less on its plot than on the friction between Emde and Herbst. Emde makes Les energetic, contradictory and believably immature without turning her into a caricature. She can be confident and overwhelmed at the same time. Herbst is the surprise: instead of the sharp-tongued cynic we might expect, he plays a quieter, slightly awkward father who wants to reconnect but scarcely knows how. That restraint strengthens their scenes together.
Always moving, emotionally stuck
The courier setting suits Les well. She is physically in motion but emotionally stuck. When Bert takes over her cycling work after an accident, the roles shift in a charming way. The film finds relaxed, warm moments without burying serious concerns beneath jokes. Aaron Hilmer and Gina Haller also help make her social world feel inhabited. The courier community provides a contrast to her difficult family background: belonging depends on who stays when life becomes uncomfortable. It is a familiar idea, but handled with an appealing lack of strain.
Too many subjects at once
The screenplay tries to accommodate pregnancy, the father-daughter conflict, chosen family, relationships, fear of the future and further personal difficulties at once. Some subjects are therefore touched on rather than developed. Certain turns feel conspicuously constructed, and the younger characters’ slang sometimes sounds like a writer trying too audibly to sound young. Because the leads are so natural, these moments stand out. Occasionally another emotional problem arrives before a character has properly lived through the previous conflict.
Sympathy for the characters
Despite that, the film has something many German feel-good comedies lack: real sympathy for its characters. It gives Les, Bert and their different ways of living room to make mistakes. Ostermann directs without fuss and usually balances comedy and drama remarkably well.
Verdict
Sommer auf Asphalt is not a major achievement, and it carries more narrative baggage than it needs. Emde and Herbst nevertheless give the familiar story enough warmth and personality to make it linger. It is an appealing, well-acted tragicomedy with a few potholes along the way. My rating is 7 out of 10.