Short Sharp Shock (1998)
(Kurz und schmerzlos)
Country: GER
Technical: col 99m
Director: Fatih Akin
Cast: Mehmet Kurtuluş, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Adam Bousdoukos, Regula Grauwiller
Synopsis:
Three Hamburg friends, a Greek, a Serb and a Turk, reaffirm their bond of affection after one of them returns from doing time, but girl trouble and ill-starred involvement with the Albanian mafia lead to breakup and a violent endgame.
Review:
Akin's first feature is as unashamedly indebted to Kassovitz's La Haine as that film was to Mean Streets, even down to an Astérix-style drug dealer played by the director himself. Despite the resemblances, or doubtless because of them, it is nowhere near as accomplished a piece of work, tagging a 'settling of scores' denouement onto its generic 'impossibility of going straight' formula. The ethnic detail, morality and fresh performances by a young cast sustain the interest, however, and Akin directs with flair and passion.
(Kurz und schmerzlos)
Country: GER
Technical: col 99m
Director: Fatih Akin
Cast: Mehmet Kurtuluş, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Adam Bousdoukos, Regula Grauwiller
Synopsis:
Three Hamburg friends, a Greek, a Serb and a Turk, reaffirm their bond of affection after one of them returns from doing time, but girl trouble and ill-starred involvement with the Albanian mafia lead to breakup and a violent endgame.
Review:
Akin's first feature is as unashamedly indebted to Kassovitz's La Haine as that film was to Mean Streets, even down to an Astérix-style drug dealer played by the director himself. Despite the resemblances, or doubtless because of them, it is nowhere near as accomplished a piece of work, tagging a 'settling of scores' denouement onto its generic 'impossibility of going straight' formula. The ethnic detail, morality and fresh performances by a young cast sustain the interest, however, and Akin directs with flair and passion.
(Kurz und schmerzlos)
Country: GER
Technical: col 99m
Director: Fatih Akin
Cast: Mehmet Kurtuluş, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Adam Bousdoukos, Regula Grauwiller
Synopsis:
Three Hamburg friends, a Greek, a Serb and a Turk, reaffirm their bond of affection after one of them returns from doing time, but girl trouble and ill-starred involvement with the Albanian mafia lead to breakup and a violent endgame.
Review:
Akin's first feature is as unashamedly indebted to Kassovitz's La Haine as that film was to Mean Streets, even down to an Astérix-style drug dealer played by the director himself. Despite the resemblances, or doubtless because of them, it is nowhere near as accomplished a piece of work, tagging a 'settling of scores' denouement onto its generic 'impossibility of going straight' formula. The ethnic detail, morality and fresh performances by a young cast sustain the interest, however, and Akin directs with flair and passion.