Awaydays

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Movie
German title Awaydays
Original title Awaydays
Country of production Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 2009
length 101 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Pat Holden
script Kevin Sampson
production David A. Hughes
music David A. Hughes
camera Tony Mitchell
cut Mark Elliott
occupation

Awaydays is a 2009 British film . It is based on the book of the same name by Kevin Sampson , who also wrote the script for it. Sampson founded his own production company in order to be able to realize the project.

Summary

A bored young man from a secure background is accepted into the gang "The Pack". He comes into contact with drugs, music, sex, soccer, hooligans and the gang's special dress code . While the friendship with gang member Elvis ( Liam Boyle ) intensifies to the point of self-destruction, Paul is drawn into the vortex of a violent world.

action

The film is set in Birkenhead, a small suburb of Liverpool in 1979. 19-year-old Paul Carty lives with his father and younger sister Molly after his mother dies. He's a well-mannered but bored football fan who meets John Godden, an ex-soldier and leader of a group of hooligans called "The Pack". Carty also meets Mark, called "Elvis", a member of the gang, in a club. They find that they share the same taste in music and long to leave Birkenhead and go to Berlin. Carty repeatedly asks to be accepted into the gang, which Elvis repeatedly refuses. When there is an argument with a salesman in a record shop and Carty knocks him down with a headbutt, Elvis is ready to get him into the aisle.

On the next trip away, Carty survives his first fight and he is fascinated by the brute force. When he comes home, he makes an appointment to go shopping the next day with his sister, who has already sensed his fascination for "The Pack". Shortly before, he meets Elvis. They go to a pub together and Carty completely forgets about the date with his sister. He promises to make up for the appointment and goes on an away tour with the “Pack” again, this time to Wrexham. Here the police initially prevented the hooligan groups from meeting. However, Carty breaks through and injures an opponent with a box cutter in a fight. Godden then accepts him as a new gang member. Everyone celebrates him for what he did, except Elvis and Baby Millan, who see their position in the hierarchy endangered. On this evening, the gang celebrates the success in their local pub "The Pelican". Godden strongly warns Baby Millan not to sell heroin to the gang. In an admission ritual, Carty is supposed to have sex with a woman in front of everyone. When this goes wrong, everyone laughs at him.

Carty and Elvis walk around the houses one evening and meet the women Sonia and Jackie. You go to Elvis together. He fends off Sonia's advances, starts smoking heroin and is then no longer responsive. The next morning Carty meets Sonia in the bathroom and they sleep together. When Elvis and Carty are back with the gang shortly afterwards, they start arguing. He teases Carty that his selection of women is poor. Carty then complains that he wasn't on his side in the situation before the "Pelican". And Godden reprimands Elvis for taking drugs. When they leave the train, Elvis and Carty run ahead of the others and Carty apologizes for the conversation. Suddenly they encounter a group of opposing hooligans and Carty loudly calls the rest of the gang over. This is followed by Godden, the only one who gives Carty a headbutt and makes it clear to him that he is still the leader of the gang. Only then does he summon the others and they fight against the opponents. On the way back, Carty quietly hides in a corner while Elvis celebrates with the others and enjoys his regained position in the aisle.

In the ensuing period, Carty withdraws from the gang and spends more time with his family and his new girlfriend Natasha. Both spend a romantic evening at home when Molly unexpectedly comes home after being beaten in a club by a man and his friends. Carty, looking for revenge, is also beaten up by the men. He gets back in touch with Elvis, who tells him that at the same time in the "Pelican" Godden, Baby Millan was stabbed by a knife. The gang comes to his aid and they take revenge on the thugs. Carty and Elvis meet again at Godden's funeral. Elvis takes him to the confessional and tells him that "he always loved him". He asks him to come with him one last time to an away game. When Carty arrives at the station, he hesitates to get on the train. Elvis, on the other hand, is sitting on the railway bridge above the rails. When the train starts it jumps. Carty goes along, but stays away from the gang. When he arrives at his destination, he stays behind and is pursued by a group of opposing hooligans. He flees and catches up with his gang, which defeats the enemy. As they withdraw, Baby Millan cuts his face with a knife.

production

The film was shot on location in Wirral , Merseyside and Liverpool .

publication

It was shown at various festivals in 2008, including the London Film Festival , the Rotterdam Film Festival and, in early 2009, the Dublin International Film Festival. The official theatrical release was on May 22nd, 2009, the DVD release on September 4th, 2009.

criticism

“First-class equipped for a low-budget film, 'Awaydays' evokes the end of the 1970s in Liverpool in a deceptively real way, shines with a brilliant post-punch soundtrack and avoids the vast majority of hooligan clichés. ... Certainly not a flawless film, but a commendable attempt to tame the hooligan story from a completely different point of view. "

- Christian Ihle - taz.de - June 1, 2010

“Awaydays… is the very personal story of a friendship that never went beyond a one-sided love affair. Holden never lets his two protagonists out of sight, which one can almost miss due to the perfectly cast of the remaining roles. "

- Sascha Keilholz - critic.de - June 10, 2010

“Nevertheless, the film is not a glorification of violence, but rather shows the harsh reality of life at that time. The special attitude towards life has seldom been portrayed as authentically as in Pat Holden's feature film. "

- Thorsten Schaar - 11Freunde - March 24, 2011

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Awaydays . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , March 2010 (PDF; test number: 122 025 V).
  2. ^ The Guardian - November 3, 2008
  3. ↑ taz.de - June 1, 2010
  4. ↑ critic.de - June 10, 2010
  5. ↑ 11Frunde - March 24, 2011

Publications