We are young. We are strong.
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | We are young. We are strong. |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2014 |
| length | 123 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Burhan Qurbani |
| script |
Martin Behnke , Burhan Qurbani |
| production |
Leif Alexis , Jochen Laube |
| music |
Matthias Sayer , Tim Ströble |
| camera | Yoshi Heimrath |
| cut | Julia Karg |
| occupation | |
| |
We are young. We are strong. is a German feature film from the director Burhan Qurbani from 2014 . Using the example of a group of young people, the film tells of the riots in Rostock-Lichtenhagen on August 24, 1992. He starred in the lead roles with Devid Striesow , Jonas Nay and Trang Le Hong . It is a co-production by UFA Fiction , ZDF and Arte .
action
Rostock-Lichtenhagen , on the morning of August 24, 1992: The central reception center for asylum seekers in Rostock (ZASt) is overcrowded, which means that Sinti and Roma camp in front of the house. After radical right-wing riots had already broken out in the past few days, the prefabricated housing estate is like a battlefield. Plagued by boredom, a group of German youths loitering in a minibus. They include Sandro, the leader of the group, the daring Robbie and Stefan, the son of Martin, a social democratic local politician. When a patrol car drives by, tensions between the youth and the police become clear.
Martin, Stefan's father, announced his decision on television not to evacuate the asylum seekers despite the threat from the locals. A little later, he has to watch his superior having the Sinti and Roma evacuated for security reasons. More protests by locals have been announced for the evening, as there are still numerous Vietnamese in the building. Since Martin knows of Stefan's connection to Robbie, he worries about his son, especially since he cannot reach him.
The group around Sandro, Robbie and Stefan is meanwhile in Sandro's car. Sandro is provoked by Robbie, who turns him off the neo-Nazi music. Sandro then drags Robbie a few meters into the forest, where he almost chokes him to death. Then the group goes to the Baltic Sea beach . There Tabor is having fun by painting a swastika on the forehead of his sleeping friend Goldhahn, whom Robbie had previously derided as a Jew because of his name , with sunscreen , which from then on remains visible due to the sunburn. Meanwhile, Stefan takes a bath with Jennie, who kisses him.
In the evening, the group around Sandro, Robbie and Stefan goes to the protests of the locals in front of the "Sunflower House", as the asylum seekers' home is also called because of the wall painting. The police protect the house and stand between the house and the protesters. Meanwhile, Martin tries to sit out the riots at home. Nevertheless, he soon begins to look in Stefan's room for possible clues as to his whereabouts. Because he can't find anything and he suspects Stefan at the “sunflower house”, he goes there.
On site, the police have now withdrawn from the angry mob. The protests escalate when Stefan throws the first Molotov cocktail into a window. Shortly afterwards, the house was stormed with the aim of lynching the asylum seekers . In sheer fear, the Vietnamese Lien tries to get to safety on one of the top floors with her relatives. At the last minute, Lien manages to bring her brother, who was left behind, upstairs.
Because they cannot find any asylum seekers on the lower floors, Robbie and Stefan ravage one of the apartments and set it on fire. Downstairs in front of the house the angry crowd chants “Germany the Germans! Foreigners out!". Martin is in the crowd, but his counter-protest has no chance. Suddenly he sees his son standing on the parapet of a balcony, who is heating up the crowd with hand movements. The police have now returned to the “Sunflower House” and are gradually regaining control of the situation.
The next morning Lien wakes up with the other Vietnamese in a makeshift hospital. As she steps out into the street, a child throws a stone at her.
production
An empty prefabricated building in Halle served as the filming location , as the original sunflower house is still inhabited. In addition, the space in front of the house is now built on. 500 extras were used.
Staging
Until the point in the evening when the clique gives an interview to the TV reporters in front of the Sunflower House, the film is black and white with an aspect ratio of 1.85: 1. The short color interview is a 4: 3-like television format. After that, the picture remains colored and changes to the aspect ratio 2.35: 1.
publication
The German theatrical release was on January 22nd, 2015. Since July 24th, 2015, the film has been available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Box office income and number of visitors
The film achieved box office earnings of at least 662,081 euros in Germany and, since 2014, has had 107,514 cinema-goers.
criticism
The film received mixed reviews. The film magazine epd Film described the film as an “important contribution to the integration debate in Germany”, as did Qurbani's debut film Shahada (2010). We are young. We are strong. Approach "your topic just as confidently as it is artful" and use "no prejudices". The film revolves around “with great sensitivity” what “both groups [neo-Nazis and Vietnamese d. R.] made mortal enemies that night ”. He referred to "the economic framework and the permanent process of change in the former GDR, in which many felt they were losers in history". Nevertheless, the film "does not resolve everything in obvious explanatory patterns"; instead, "psychology and psychopathology [...] appear as decisive factors, as a kind of accelerator of fire".
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , on the other hand, criticized that the film would “only offer an external view” despite an “army of extras”. The film does not testify to an “educational will”. Because “he wants to show everything”, “he only shows something of everything”. In doing so, he focuses on "that which could disturb the viewer in a touching way: the forlornness of a youth in a situation of upheaval, the insecurity of politics in questions of immigration or the lurking malice of the petty bourgeoisie, who remains a mere grimace here".
Roderich Fabian von Bayern 2 called Wir sind Jung. We are strong. as a film "that thinks decisively too briefly". Apparently “a few convinced Nazis would be enough to incite a whole group of actually sympathetic and sensible young people to racist violence”. In concentrating on the clique, “there is almost something like a justification for their actions”. Especially in view of the recent attacks, this is “decidedly too short-sighted”.
The film service rated the film as “worth seeing” and judged it to be a differentiating retrospective and staged “with great craftsmanship”.
The jury of the German Film and Media Assessment awarded the film the title “particularly valuable” and justified this with the fact that it created “a dramaturgically captivating arc of suspense”. Although the "plot largely follows the facts", an "independent plot on the subject of racism, the power of ideologies [and] an insecure generation in transition" emerged. The camera, music and the performances of the actors were also praised.
Awards
At the presentation of the film at the Hof Film Festival in October 2014, Jill Schwarzer (production designer) and Juliane Maier (costumes) received awards. Director Qurbani was nominated for the German Cinema New Talent Award .
In addition, the film received three nominations for the German Film Prize 2015 , including in the categories of best full-length feature film and best camera . Joel Basman won the Best Supporting Actor award.
Web links
- Official web presence of the film
- We are young. We are strong. in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for We are young. We are strong. . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , August 2014 (PDF; test number: 146 739 K).
- ↑ Rostock-Lichtenhagen in Halle Shooting is finished at mz-web.de
- ↑ Release Info. We are young. We are strong. (2014). Internet Movie Database , accessed March 9, 2015 .
- ↑ TOP 100 DEUTSCHLAND 2015 at insidekino , accessed on July 14, 2019
- ↑ Entry in the LUMIERE database , accessed on July 14, 2019
- ↑ Dietmar Kanthak: We are young. We are strong. Epd Film , No. 1/2015, December 15, 2014, accessed on March 9, 2015 .
- ↑ Hans-Jörg Rother: Chronicle of a bad night. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , January 22, 2015, accessed on March 9, 2015 .
- ^ Roderich Fabian: How violence arises. Bavaria 2 , January 21, 2015, archived from the original on January 24, 2015 ; accessed on March 9, 2015 .
- ↑ We are young. We are strong. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 22, 2020 .
- ↑ We are young. We are strong. German Film and Media Assessment (FBW) , accessed on March 9, 2015 (jury statement).
- ↑ Bild-Kunst sponsorship awards go to WE ARE YOUNG. WE ARE STRONG. Hof Film Festival , accessed on March 9, 2015 .
- ↑ Awards. We are young. We are strong. (2014). Internet Movie Database, accessed March 9, 2015 .