23

Films dealing with real events in the past and focusing on a non-general subject should find a specific form or approach - for the sake of wider understanding and praise. In 23, the story begins auspiciously, but then the pace abates, and many scenes and characters have little meaning for the story development - or they have a role, but the viewers obtain no satisfactory clarification. The activities of law enforcement are almost not depicted at all. True, the leading performances are realistic and good (particularly August Diehl as Karl Koch), and the moods and style of the 80ies have been caught, but the run of events and the ending did not meet my expectations in full.

Well, this story has its interesting angles at present as most of people in the 1980ies had no PC or intranet, but it is not on the level of e.g. Who Am I – Kein System ist sicher, dealing with hackers as well.

Acting on the highest levels. Best german movie have ever seen.

I watched this movie because some articles made me curious ... the film is very thrilling and full of sophisticated humor. i felt 15 years younger, it was like leafing through a diary. I was born in 1964 so the time of Karl Koch's youth was the time of my youth, too. I have, however, never been a hacker. I think it was the first scene: Karl Koch takes his key and walks to his car, "accompanied" by "Child In Time". From that beginning I was in the film and I loved it. I also love "mathematic tricks" and "mathematic obsessions", just like Karl Koch. If the Americans would have made this film there would have been a love story and maybe also a happy-end. 23 is a great European film.

An intriguing portrait of a young man drifting away from reality. And since that young man was a famous hacker with an unhealthy interest in conspiracies, the movie has got to be about conspiracies, right? Wrong. But that's exactly what the ads would like you to think. Very bad marketing for a very good movie. And beware: it can bring you to tears!! (Just thinking about that PDP in the rain makes me weep ... *sniff*)

23 is a 1998 German drama thriller film about a young hacker Karl Koch, who died on 23 May 1989, a presumed suicide. It was directed by Hans-Christian Schmid, who also participated in screen writing. The title derives from the protagonist's obsession with the number 23, a phenomenon often described as apophenia. Although the film was well received by critics and audiences, its accuracy has been vocally disputed by some witnesses to the real-life events on which it was based. Schmid subsequently co-authored a book that tells the story of the making of 23 and also details the differences between the movie and the actual events.