I loved the allegory which the computer robbery displayed. The youth in this film is a product of their environment and they act out of poverty and necessity, however they eliminate precisely *the* resource, which would catapult them out of poverty (=education). A vicious double. Very well written.
The soundtrack is monstrous (especially with Dolby Surround Sound). This is one of the main reasons I consider watching this movie for a third time in theatres. When Lukas doesn't get into school at the beginning of the movie and he pulls out his MP3 player and walks through Gropius... that's where Luvre47's song "Aussicht Trist" plays and it perfectly encapsulates this concrete jungle. Crass, bleak and aggressive sound with a frustrated and fed up delivery from Luvre. One could also argue that it sounds like a modern "Aggro Berlin" track. Great choice to support the visuals of the concrete landscape.
In general, I found the songs that were integrated very fitting and managed to pull us back to the early 2000s. Also great eye for detail in general when it comes to world building and authentic display of the time frame the movie is set in.
The initial montage with these "fancy" and advertisement-esque effects were a bit too much though, IMO. Felt like "40+ year old director trying to reach the younger audience and thinks that these kind of effects would please the TikTok generation". Kind of reminded me of that "how do you do fellow kids"-meme.
Some scenes were absolutely phenomenal acting wise. Lukas arguing with his father about the stolen computers, the first appearance of Lukas's brother (Luvre47!), the private conversation between Lukas and his guidance counselor, Sanchez arguing with his mother, the whole sequence at the beginning with the fight between the Arabs and Turks... immaculate casting!
Scenes were dramaturgically and technically well written. I found that all the introductions of main characters were well done. When a new character appeared, one could immediately sense what kind of personality the character possessed.
I'm still not over the moon over Julius's character, and do think he is an exaggerated caricature as opposed to the authentic and down to earth portrayal of the other main characters, BUT on second viewing he irritated me far less than on my first viewing. Still, to me the major weak point of the movie.
In some rare cases you could still notice the very German and mainstream-audience flavor of the movie (especially comedic relief jokes), but all in all it definitely leans more towards art house drama than crowd pleasing blockbuster. Still a strong 8/10.
The soundtrack is monstrous (especially with Dolby Surround Sound). This is one of the main reasons I consider watching this movie for a third time in theatres. When Lukas doesn't get into school at the beginning of the movie and he pulls out his MP3 player and walks through Gropius... that's where Luvre47's song "Aussicht Trist" plays and it perfectly encapsulates this concrete jungle. Crass, bleak and aggressive sound with a frustrated and fed up delivery from Luvre. One could also argue that it sounds like a modern "Aggro Berlin" track. Great choice to support the visuals of the concrete landscape.
In general, I found the songs that were integrated very fitting and managed to pull us back to the early 2000s. Also great eye for detail in general when it comes to world building and authentic display of the time frame the movie is set in.
The initial montage with these "fancy" and advertisement-esque effects were a bit too much though, IMO. Felt like "40+ year old director trying to reach the younger audience and thinks that these kind of effects would please the TikTok generation". Kind of reminded me of that "how do you do fellow kids"-meme.
Some scenes were absolutely phenomenal acting wise. Lukas arguing with his father about the stolen computers, the first appearance of Lukas's brother (Luvre47!), the private conversation between Lukas and his guidance counselor, Sanchez arguing with his mother, the whole sequence at the beginning with the fight between the Arabs and Turks... immaculate casting!
Scenes were dramaturgically and technically well written. I found that all the introductions of main characters were well done. When a new character appeared, one could immediately sense what kind of personality the character possessed.
I'm still not over the moon over Julius's character, and do think he is an exaggerated caricature as opposed to the authentic and down to earth portrayal of the other main characters, BUT on second viewing he irritated me far less than on my first viewing. Still, to me the major weak point of the movie.
In some rare cases you could still notice the very German and mainstream-audience flavor of the movie (especially comedic relief jokes), but all in all it definitely leans more towards art house drama than crowd pleasing blockbuster. Still a strong 8/10.