“Billions of euros are being spent to support people,” says an alt-right German radio disc jockey who viewers never see. Pardon me for sounding reductive, but moments like this in Phantoms of July reinforce centuries old stereotypes. Back in the 18th century, when Sangerhausen was in Saxony, the upper classes enforced religious classism and fatalism. Three centuries later, in modern Germany, classiest and racist microaggressions affect a diverse group of people. Despite this, there are individuals yearning for better ideas and a community of like minded people.

Phantoms of July has at least four protagonists, the first being Ursula (Clara Schwinning) , a cleaner / server. The film follows her as she meets three ‘friendly’ Berlin based musicians like Zulima (Henriette Confurius). The second is Neda (Maral Keshavarz), who is slumming it as a travel content creator. She meets Sung Nam (Kyung-Taek Lie), a driver whose version of tourism is more based in nature. Fate brings most of these characters together alongside the ghost of Ursula’s ancestor Lotte (Paula Schindler).

The four stories here have four chapters, all of them sharing motifs that manifest through still life, the most obvious one being the blue stone that passes from Lotte to Ursula to Neda. Phantoms of July has one or two more of those though, like the cherries everyone eats. The symbolism in these objects feel overt, like the cherries being too expensive for the characters. But there’s also a magical element here, people come and go but the natural objects still remain.

Clocking in at ninety minutes, there are moments of Julian Radlmaier’s Phantoms of July that feel slightly digressive. But sometimes, the scenic route lets its viewers get to know these characters’ rich back stories. I’m thinking, in particular, about the scene when Neda runs into her friend Marjam (Ghazal Shojaei). At first, it seems like it’s just a scene where two friends catch up on each other. But sometimes, a scene like that is all it needs to drop truisms about living life.

Aside from its still life cinematography, Phantoms of July has its share of beautiful close ups. That close up Marjam alone makes this worth choosing within MUBI’s selection of German cinema. Shoes walk through cobblestone streets, and a bird flies as these characters find each other. Yes, I listed some of its problems above, as well as the fact that films like this feel under cooked. But there is a part of me that likes its ghostly, kooky and understated approach.

Phantoms of July is available to stream on MUBI, which-