Tough Enough (2006)
"Knallhart" (original title)

When Miriam splits up with her wealthy lover, she and her 15-year-old son Michael have to move from posh Zehlendorf to run-down Berlin-Neukölln. The boy finds friends in his new ... See full summary »

Director:

Detlev Buck

Writers:

Zoran Drvenkar (screenplay), Gregor Tressnow (screenplay),

Stars:

David Kross, Jenny Elvers-Elbertzhagen, Erhan Emre

9 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Kross	...	Michael Polischka
Jenny Elvers-Elbertzhagen	...	Miriam Polischka
Erhan Emre	...	Hamal
Oktay Özdemir	...	Erol (as Inanç Oktay Özdemir)
Kida Khodr Ramadan	...	Barut
Arnel Taci	...	Crille
Kai Michael Müller	...	Matze
Hans Löw	...	Kommissar Gerber
Jan Henrik Stahlberg	...	Dr. Klaus Peters
Amy Mußul	...	Lisa
Georg Friedrich	...	Holger Hagenbeck
Marc Zwinz	...	Strippe
Henriette Müller	...	Jule
Eva Löbau	...	Elke
Fabian Krüger	...	Rainer der Künstler

Storyline

When Miriam splits up with her wealthy lover, she and her 15-year-old son Michael have to move from posh Zehlendorf to run-down Berlin-Neukölln. The boy finds friends in his new neighborhood, but at school he is victimized and pressed for money by Errol and his gang. Handing over money from a burglary rather serves to encourage the bullies instead of warding them off, so Michael is desperately looking for a better solution.

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Plot Keywords:

school | bully | automated teller machine | barber shop | hookah | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site (German)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

9 March 2006 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Tough Enough

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Boje Buck Produktion, WDR/Arte

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When returning from their burglary at Klaus' mansion, Michael and his two new school friends can be seen sitting in a subway whose cars are openly connected so that you can walk the whole subway from one end to the other without passing a door (which is a newer model of "U-Bahn"-trains in Berlin). When the three boys leave the train at the station, the subway model suddenly has changed. The type of cars you can see from the outside then cannot be walked continuously from one end of the train to the other. Instead those (older) cars are separate units connected "one by one" externally - to get to another car you would have to leave through the side doors and enter the next car the same way.

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Soundtracks

"Will You Smile Again for Me"
Written by C. Keely, J. Reece and K. Allen
Performed by The Trail of Dead

User Reviews

We've seen better

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.