By Linda Winsh-Bolard
Marisa is twenty. She lives in a small town in former East Germany and works with her mother in a local supermarket.
Although her Mom houses Marisa and her boyfriend in a nice, split level house with a garden, Marisa dislikes her. Marisa is under dual male influence: her grandfather, whom she adores, and her boyfriend who has an animal sex appeal to her.
Her grandfather is a former Nazi, the boyfriend, a Neo Nazi. Marisa is besotted by both.
Instead of any program, even one utilizing their hysterical hatred towards "foreigners", those who look or sound different from them, regardless where they were born, and whom they hold responsible for all social and economic problems in Germany, the group of thugs who are driving around in a car marked by slogan "100% German" spends their hormonal rage in useless, brutal attacks at innocent, unarmed people.
The obvious excitement, adrenalin visibly rising, when hurting others seems directly interlinked with sexual tension. They beat people to bleeding mess, then have rough, hungry sex. In neither activity brains are desirable or needed.
The thugs have a nasty habit of recording the beatings. This eventually brings the police and a jail term for Marisa's boyfriend.
Marisa, tense and angry is astonished and surprised when an Asian teenager reciprocates pissing on his shirt with breaking off her car's side window. Foreigners are supposed to be meek. This one refuses to be. She gets into her car, follows the Asians on their moped and side swipes them with her car. Then she drives back. She is neither caught not prosecuted.
Chance will bring the younger Asian, Rasul, back . As fanatical as she is, Marisa met her equal in Rasul. Rasul wants to get to Sweden. He needs help and unflinchingly waits for Marisol to provide it. As she bent to Marcus, so she bends to Rasul.
Undoubtedly, the film is supposed to show that close personal contact with a human from different culture will change former hostility, indeed break it down. I doubt that is often the case, even though it's possible.
Rasul is, in his own way, as fanatical as Marisol. He flatly states that had she killed his brother, she thinks she did, he would have killed her while he forces her to give him food and shelter.
Rasul is not particularly sympathetic. He expects others to provide for him simply because he needs the provision. Frankly, he is asking those who have no responsibility for him.
Just as Marisol believes that because she is born German in Germany, she is better than anyone else and entitled to do what she wants, so in effect does Rasul.
The interaction, complicated by side story of young 15 years old Svenja enamored by the Neo Nazis, grinds to its sad end.
Yet throughout the action I kept thinking that the most believable scenes are those drunken parties, screeching music and shaking muscles in blatant sexual display. The physical is more important to those involved than any philosophy or reason.
I also could not help thinking that what movement many of these youngsters get involved in is largely incidental. It could Marxists, Buddhist, neo Nazi or child soldiers as well as any other freedom movement or opposition.
Young people want to belong. They like to think they can change the world. In a meantime hormones range on and anything with rhythm, alcohol and sex is appealing.
The wild parties of American Republican Party young staffers are not much different that those base ones in the film. The Republican have more money so the setting and alcohol are better, yet the substance just the same: we, the group of us, are better than anyone else and entitled to all and sundry.
I expect the Democrats feel the same.
I know people in many other movements do.
Possibly this is not just the most realist part of the film but the most relevant one.
The film is often brutal, graphic and crude to the point of repelling. The astounding indoctrination appears stupid, yet people fall for it, so it is dangerous.
The problem is real. The recruitment process seem possible. The outcome is naively hopeful on one hand, sad waste on the other.
It is not pleasant film to watch. The theme is not new. But occasionally it touches on personal discovery of what makes growing up filled with prejudice or what might change people.
It makes you think. That is more than many films do.
Directed by David Wnendt, Alina Levshin: Marisa, Jella Haase: Svenja, Sayed Ahmad Wasil Mrowat: Rasul, Gerdy Zint: Sandro, Lukas Steltner: Markus, Uwe Preuss: Oliver, Winnie Bowe: Andrea, Rosa Enskat: Bea, Haymon Maria Buttinger: Clemens, Klaus Manchen: Grossvater Franz
