User Reviews

"Familiye" is a German German-language film from 2017, so relatively recent still, and the ones in charge of script and direction were Sedat Kirtan and Kubilay Sarikaya. The latter also plays a key character, while the former has a family member (brother?) on board playing another main character. It is an award-winning film we have here that runs for for slightly under 100 minutes and takes us into the life of immigrants living here in Germany, but it is not really about them adapting as you could think, but instead about them basically doing their own thing with other people that originate from their area or lets say do not originate from Germany. There is a lot involved here, arguments between friends, crime which is really a crucial key plot, struggling with jobs, violence against themselves and each other and also love, but not really to an extent where it comes even close to defining the movie. The Down Syndrome brother well he added almost nothing for me except a desperate attempt to really get in a note that will make the audiences feel sorry or sympathy or evoke emotion. But for me it wasn't enough. You also have to come up with a convincing story line around this man (and his brothers) if you want me to like a film. The only somewhat good thing I can say there is that they did not have simply shoot the Down Syndrome brother the bad guy at the end, but kept it realistic with him handing the other man the gun. This film is completely in black-and-white and that is another aspect I usually like, but here not so much because it really can only make a good film even better, not a weak film good and they should have come up with a superior script here in order to fix this. The problem is not that nothing happens, the problem is that really nothing too interesting or memorable happens and that the film also never manages to be a good-quality character study. So yeah, even if there are a few okay moments here and there, I think the rating here on imdb is too high. Also don't be fooled by the currently relevant immigration topic into thinking that this here is a movie that is whatsoever defining about that issue. Far from that and there are many other films that elaborate in a more talented way on such subject, even if not as many as you may think perhaps because how hot the topic is and some are also scared of saying something that does not bode too well for their future careers as the media and also the film industry have a very specific position when it comes to this subject and won't go easy on anybody who does not share said position. Freedom of opinion and expression should have been valued more highly again. Okay, I am drifting a bit away from the film, but there really isn't that much to say anymore anyway apart from how stunning Schurawlow is, even if I struggled with her expressing an interest in one of the main characters. Crime is still one of the most liked genres here in Germany and there are many films coming out ona regular basis dealing with this subject (basically everything involving Moritz Bleibtreu). This is another one that does not make it into the circle of quality German crime films from recent years. My suggestion is to skip the watch and go for something else instead.