Knallhart

Is Germany trying to have its own crime epic, its own "Goodfellas"? Well, not quite, though it looks that way from a distance. "Knallhart" is actually just a coming-of-age tale about a 15-year-old boy (the very convincing David Kross) who just happens to meet a whole bunch of criminals along the way. The script isn't really too exceptional, but the stale, naturalistic look of the movie still makes it worthwhile. I really liked how the frames just screamed desperation on behalf of every single character. One thing that struck me as odd though is that the movie's running time is so short, the character of Michael Polischka just didn't seem like he was done yet. Because of that the ending feels very abrupt, it made me feel somewhat unfulfilled. The first hour is downright excellent though, beautiful realistic cinema.

When a young mother and her 15 year old son have to move from the posh end of town to the run down end of town things aren't going to get better anytime soon. Used to living on the up-side getting used to the down-side is a little hard after all. With mom not being the absolute best role model available it is clear that the son can't be that either. And so the story rolls.

Knallhart, also known as Tough Enough, is thus a drama film and a fairly good one at that. The realism factor is very high and it is hard not to feel a certain amount of pity for the characters as they evolve through the film. Musical background is fitting for a modern film and feels right, acting isn't half bad. Overall an enjoyable watch, if a little depressing to see yet another one bite the dust.

8 out of 10 broken futures

I expected another Gegen die Wand and I got...well, this! It's the kind of story we've seen countless times before, and in many cases better executed. This movie just doesn't add up to other movies about troubled kids going on the wrong path in life. Recent pearls like La Haine or Cidade de Deus are so much better.

The problem I had with this story is that we can predict from the very beginning where it is going to lead us. From the moment we see the good looking, almost angelic kid walking into a police station with blood on his shoes, we know that he'll turn the wrong way by meeting the wrong people. And that's exactly what happens. It doesn't lead us - the viewer - on any new grounds regarding the subject of youth delinquency. The small subplot concerning the mother is strong, but I really felt that they could've heighten it to a higher level. In the end it does deliver as a heart wrenching thriller rather than the society comment it wants to be. The Germans know how to make good cinema, this doesn't belong in there.

Knallhart is in many points a typical German movie to me. The premise of a troubled teenager moving to a new flat in a low class Berlin environment and dealing with violence, drugs and apathy is nothing new. The movie tries to portrait the depressing surrounding in long pictures of the main actor walking through the city in washed out colors. The surrounding and the characters to me seem typically German and unbelievable ... overacted or over-scripted (the mobile phone beating videos were implemented heavy to meet with modern day German news headlines as a very cheap catch). Acting wise the movie was pulled down by the incredibly untalented Jenny Elvers in the role of the lead actors mother. Several other characters are badly acted like the German dealer in the cellar or the Austrian cocaine dealer (this scene is a perfect example for overdoing things by cutting to the baby every 10 seconds.... yeah, its depressing but how come non-German movies like "Ex Drummer" or "London to Brighton" manage to be gripping and getting the message across with far less effort??). Oh and talking about "London to Brighton".... like "KNallhart" its a 2006 movie but I really wonder about the strong similarities. The setting, the telling of the story by beginning at the end and then resolving it, the open ending, the environment and long city shots, the idea of the the main actor being forced to murder a person he hates although its not in his nature... can all this be coincidence??

However the movies are classes apart.... the use of music was really bad in Knallhart and made it hard to feel for the main actor or the plot because it hardly ever transported the visual emotion. It rather sounded like the were selling a modern soundtrack or something. I think a 7.5 average rating is definitely too much for a movie with this many flaws. Even the editing was pretty weak at times... so do yourself a favor and watch "London to Brighton" or "Ex Drummer" if you want a movie gritty and getting you emotionally involved with great cinematography in a depressing underclass-environment rather than this pretentious German effort.

Interesting how one person read this film as having a subtext to do with fear of immigration and other races. I found this quite harrowing to watch, it pressed buttons for me, leaving me quite disturbed and depressed afterwards. I d recommend it to anyone doing work with kids around bullying. The central character is faced with some hard choices. After watching this, I was left wondering what exactly I might do, given the same set of circumstances. There's a frenetic, techno charged turbo driven soundtrack, rapid editing and wonky camera angles, but this is used skilfully. There's two scenes of incredible tension where the filmmaker slows down, the camera becomes still which brings emphasis to bear on the events. All in this is competently executed and while not up there with Los Olvidados or 400 Blows is nonethless well worth a look.