"Wut" (translates to "anger") is a much debated German made-for-TV movie. It is about a juvenile Turkish second-generation immigrant named Can who pushes around Felix, a German boy his age to whom Can sells dope. The movie is set in Berlin, Germany.
Felix' parents feel that something is wrong and eventually find out that he is being bullied by Can. The situation gets more and more out of hands as the Turkish boy and Felix' father develop a mutual and violent hatred. Can terrorizes the family; he deliberately damages their property. The father reacts by having a friend beat the crap out of Can. While the situation between the two escalates, Felix and Can become something like friends.
As the father finds out that Can is selling drugs to Felix, he denounces Can. Can who is now running from the police and faces jail wants to take revenge on the family, the father in particular. Can thinks that Felix' father does not have pride and honor; that he is a wimp and not a real man but someone who has to ask for help and cannot protect his family himself. Can breaks into the family's house and threatens to kill them. He tells them about pride and honor; him preaching to them is not very realistic (the rest of the movie is shockingly realistic) but the scene is suspenseful and has a political message.
"Wut" is a bold and honest movie. Showing a Turkish boy as the bad guy in a German movie was a taboo. Felix states in the movie that German's have a "Hitler complex". That means that they put up with everything done to them by people from other countries or races because they fear to be regarded as Nazis or racists. Therein lies a problem in German society because people are uncomfortable talking about problems which immigration brings along (only the right-wing extremist parties do; everyone else feels they need to add "But I am not a Nazi" every time he or she says something negative about immigrants).
Bullies like Can exist; and for a fact they are often Turkish immigrants. The movie is bold as it says what most Germans think but don't dare to say; not meant here is that Turkish people are criminals but that there are problems integrating them into society. As shown in the movie, Germans and Turkish people often live in very different milieus. There is great inequality which is the main reason for Turkish adolescents to be more likely to become criminal than Germans of the same age. Turkish people do the jobs that Germans don't want to do and even though they officially are socially accepted unofficially many people see them as 'the Turks' rather than an integrated part of society. The movie criticizes both sides but its main purpose is not to criticize but to make people think.
And the movie is thought-provoking. The German rating is 12; the American would go something like: Rated R for violence, language and drug content. But everything shown in this movie (except of the ending maybe) happens in real life...all the time; many young people experience crime every day. The movie was planned to be broadcast at 8pm but then removed and shown at a later hour because the content was found to be inappropriate for young people. I have to disagree with that decision which was widely criticized as the movie's topic is especially important to young people (12+).
The implied message of the movie is that if a society stays passive for too long (as Felix does) and does not react in time to the problems of integration and immigration, it will have a fatal ending. You may disagree with the movie but the movie makes you think about the political problems discussed and forces you to form an opinion.
Felix' parents are described as liberal and open-minded (Most viewers would describe themselves that way too). The father occasionally smokes pot, both parents have extramarital affairs and try hard not to be conservative or square. The sub-plot concerning their affairs is interesting but weaker than and not relevant for the main story. It is, however, interesting to see the change which the father undergoes throughout the course of the movie. At the beginning he is all about political correctness but later on he has to find out that he is not free of racism. He tells Can "to get his Turkish ass out of the room." It's not really a bad insult but it is aimed at Can's origin. As the father undergoes that change, the viewer's believes are also tested.
The movie is not racist. It does not say that all Turkish people are pushers and bullies. It is in fact directed by a Turk (don't know if he is also half German). The director says that it must to be allowed to make a movie about the downside of immigration and call a spade a spade (looked that expression up in the dictionary hope it exists; means s.th. like being honest).
There really are areas in Berlin and in other cities in Germany (and everywhere else in the world) where the events described in the movie are common. For many people that might be hard to admit and an open mind is needed when watching this movie. If you are open-minded you will like the movie. You may not agree with every point the movie makes but this suspenseful and dramatic movie will make you think about the problems of integration.
**** 7.5/10 ***
Felix' parents feel that something is wrong and eventually find out that he is being bullied by Can. The situation gets more and more out of hands as the Turkish boy and Felix' father develop a mutual and violent hatred. Can terrorizes the family; he deliberately damages their property. The father reacts by having a friend beat the crap out of Can. While the situation between the two escalates, Felix and Can become something like friends.
As the father finds out that Can is selling drugs to Felix, he denounces Can. Can who is now running from the police and faces jail wants to take revenge on the family, the father in particular. Can thinks that Felix' father does not have pride and honor; that he is a wimp and not a real man but someone who has to ask for help and cannot protect his family himself. Can breaks into the family's house and threatens to kill them. He tells them about pride and honor; him preaching to them is not very realistic (the rest of the movie is shockingly realistic) but the scene is suspenseful and has a political message.
"Wut" is a bold and honest movie. Showing a Turkish boy as the bad guy in a German movie was a taboo. Felix states in the movie that German's have a "Hitler complex". That means that they put up with everything done to them by people from other countries or races because they fear to be regarded as Nazis or racists. Therein lies a problem in German society because people are uncomfortable talking about problems which immigration brings along (only the right-wing extremist parties do; everyone else feels they need to add "But I am not a Nazi" every time he or she says something negative about immigrants).
Bullies like Can exist; and for a fact they are often Turkish immigrants. The movie is bold as it says what most Germans think but don't dare to say; not meant here is that Turkish people are criminals but that there are problems integrating them into society. As shown in the movie, Germans and Turkish people often live in very different milieus. There is great inequality which is the main reason for Turkish adolescents to be more likely to become criminal than Germans of the same age. Turkish people do the jobs that Germans don't want to do and even though they officially are socially accepted unofficially many people see them as 'the Turks' rather than an integrated part of society. The movie criticizes both sides but its main purpose is not to criticize but to make people think.
And the movie is thought-provoking. The German rating is 12; the American would go something like: Rated R for violence, language and drug content. But everything shown in this movie (except of the ending maybe) happens in real life...all the time; many young people experience crime every day. The movie was planned to be broadcast at 8pm but then removed and shown at a later hour because the content was found to be inappropriate for young people. I have to disagree with that decision which was widely criticized as the movie's topic is especially important to young people (12+).
The implied message of the movie is that if a society stays passive for too long (as Felix does) and does not react in time to the problems of integration and immigration, it will have a fatal ending. You may disagree with the movie but the movie makes you think about the political problems discussed and forces you to form an opinion.
Felix' parents are described as liberal and open-minded (Most viewers would describe themselves that way too). The father occasionally smokes pot, both parents have extramarital affairs and try hard not to be conservative or square. The sub-plot concerning their affairs is interesting but weaker than and not relevant for the main story. It is, however, interesting to see the change which the father undergoes throughout the course of the movie. At the beginning he is all about political correctness but later on he has to find out that he is not free of racism. He tells Can "to get his Turkish ass out of the room." It's not really a bad insult but it is aimed at Can's origin. As the father undergoes that change, the viewer's believes are also tested.
The movie is not racist. It does not say that all Turkish people are pushers and bullies. It is in fact directed by a Turk (don't know if he is also half German). The director says that it must to be allowed to make a movie about the downside of immigration and call a spade a spade (looked that expression up in the dictionary hope it exists; means s.th. like being honest).
There really are areas in Berlin and in other cities in Germany (and everywhere else in the world) where the events described in the movie are common. For many people that might be hard to admit and an open mind is needed when watching this movie. If you are open-minded you will like the movie. You may not agree with every point the movie makes but this suspenseful and dramatic movie will make you think about the problems of integration.
**** 7.5/10 ***