Strähl (2004)

Zurich drug agent Herbert Strähl dreams of making a big catch. Yet the only fish he manages to catch is the piranha in the aquarium tank he has at home. He laboriously persists in grappling... See full summary »

Director:

Manuel Flurin Hendry

Writers:

David Keller, Michael Sauter

Stars:

Roeland Wiesnekker, Johanna Bantzer, Nderim Hajrullahu

5 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roeland Wiesnekker	...	Strähl
Johanna Bantzer	...	Carol
Nderim Hajrullahu	...	Beko Mussafr
Manuel Löwensberg	...	René Wehrli
Mike Müller	...	Ruedi Lautenschlager
Max Rüdlinger	...	Max Brunner
Raphael Clamer	...	Beat Schuppisser
Elfat Nuhiji	...	Hodxha
Martin Hug	...	Dani
Andrew Mitchell	...	Macro
Jonas Rüegg	...	Anz
Dominique Jann	...	Fritz
Liri Lushi	...	Beko's Mother (as Lirie Lushi)
Adem Kicai	...	Berisha
Alice Flotron	...	Vera

Storyline

Zurich drug agent Herbert Strähl dreams of making a big catch. Yet the only fish he manages to catch is the piranha in the aquarium tank he has at home. He laboriously persists in grappling with small-time dealers and junkies while being left in the lurch again and again by his colleagues Ruedi, Dani and Marco. Strähl hides his loneliness and his yearning for love behind fits of rage, amphetamines and yelling until his choleric temperament finally becomes his undoing: as he's conducting a house search, a junkie jumps out of the window. Strähl is suspended. And that's just the start of his problems. Suddenly Strähl finds himself at the mercy of two junkies: the soccer fanatic René and his girlfriend Carol could exonerate him with their testimony. Strähl's attempts to persuade them fail in face of Carol's stubbornness. In desperation, he ends up raiding the small-time dealer Beko and stealing from his stash of heroin to get René and Carol to relent. This sets off a chain of events that ...

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Plot Keywords:

policeman | zurich switzerland | switzerland | junkie | red light district | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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User Reviews

Swiss "mean street" hopefully a start into a new era of films

You know the contribution of Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands and other smaller countries to European Cinema. But you certainly haven't seen any recent Swiss made movie, that hit the ranks with critics as well as the public. This seems kind of strange, because Switzerland has an outstanding documentary film making tradition and certainly a strong economy, which could finance even expensive features. But in the last decade or two nothing remarkable from Switzerland came in sight on our movie theater screens. Strähl could be the first feature to signal a new, very different era of films from "Heidiland". On one hand, Strähl presents a rather traditional story of a breakdown in a Cop's career - moving from fighting drug dealers to falling in love with a narcotic. But on this basis it derives it's strengths and high suspense from a witty script, brilliant acting, a dense atmosphere and a very Swiss variety of madness on the streets. So if you don't want to miss the premiere of a - hopefully - new feature production country in Europe, have a look at this (9 out of 10).

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Switzerland

Language:

German Swiss German Albanian

Release Date:

8 December 2005 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Flic ou dealer?

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Stereo

Color:

Color