Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Connianatu How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Nate Boy 23 is a 1998 German drama thriller film about a young hacker Karl Koch, who died on 23 May 1989, a presumed suicide. It was directed by Hans-Christian Schmid, who also participated in screen writing. The title derives from the protagonist's obsession with the number 23, a phenomenon often described as apophenia. Although the film was well received by critics and audiences, its accuracy has been vocally disputed by some witnesses to the real-life events on which it was based. Schmid subsequently co-authored a book that tells the story of the making of 23 and also details the differences between the movie and the actual events.

x-rain The premise of this film is that late teen hacker Karl Koch, rebelling against his conservative(step)father and concerned with the complex conspiracy theories laid out in the novel "Illuminati", gets drawn in by two dodgy dealers that convince him that, as all info should be available to everybody, it would be absolutely consequential to conduct computer-espionage for the Sowiet Union. Accompanied by his friend David, this enterprise develops into a drugged and paranoid trip. In my opinion, the film renders quite a nice picture of what must have been the atmosphere during this period in German history, at the same time allowing a look back at early hacking. Conspiracy theory, though, is given the heaviest stress, in combination with the two youths getting carried away by the sheer excitement of their 'revolutionary' activities - and noses full of coke. Admittedly, it seems hardly believable this would be based on a true story. One of the reviews featured here, though, accused the actors of being to 'theatrical'. Although they might not perform on an academy-award-winning level, I rather thought everybody was acting pretty fairly.

manuel-pestalozzi 23 is an admirable piece of work. The cast is good. So is the script. It basically tells the story of Western Germany in the 1980ies. The main character embodies the hysteria which was at that time rampant in the Federal Republic. It was fashionable to say "I'm afraid" (of nuclear warheads, of nuclear power, of the repeatedly predicted imminent ecological holocaust, of American president Ronald Reagan etc. etc.). An anti Western neurosis was widespread. All this (and the 80ies editions of German weekly Der Spiegel) come to mind while watching 23.The main character, Karl Koch, is a high-strung, intelligent youth without a family (some sort of modern time "Young Werther") who is obsessed with personal computers and a weird science fiction story in which a world wide conspiracy of "Illuminates" is described. The figure 23 is the secret code of the conspirers. Together with a friend Karl Koch decides to somehow "counterbalance" the threat by using their computer skills to deliver information to the Eastern Bloc. (Apparently the story is based on true facts, the young man and his friend did enter computer systems of nuclear power stations, military installations etc. and they did deliver information to an intelligence agency in East Berlin). Their contact asks for more and more specified information and pays them in hard cash. The money is mainly used to finance their cocaine habit. So Karl Koch's life spirals downward, he is guilt ridden and ever more close to acute persecution mania. When the 80ies are over and the Iron Curtain is lifted, it is over with Karl Koch. He pays a heavy price for his obsessions.Tragic as the overall story is, there are quite a few really funny scenes. A fine sense of humor prevails throughout the story. The two idealistic middle class youths gang up with two lowlifes, petty criminals who tell them they can establish contacts with the Eastern Bloc (which they actually do). The two unequal pairs truly are a motley crowd and there are gross misunderstandings as well as a true feeling of brotherhood during the cocaine parties. The most hilarious incident: Karl Koch and his friend have hardware problems. Their small "Atari" aggregate can't cope any more. So they go to a "garage sale" in a nuclear power station and buy a huge old computer. They have it delivered under a tarpaulin by a small truck to their elegant 19th century apartment house in fashionable downtown Frankfurt. Their lowlife friend, also a computer freak, joins them in the street in front of the apartment house. He looks at the truck and its cargo in gaping disbelief and quickly gets into a flying tantrum. You need heavy current for this! he cries out. Well, we'll get heavy current, then, says Karl Koch, slowly loosing his self assuredness. And you need a whole cooling unit if you don't want to fry it all, shrieks the lowlife. The next scene you see heavy rain coming down in the apartment house‘s backyard. The expensive piece of junk stands there like a ghost, in the mud.

Marco Radke A very entertaining suspense movie from Germany. If you love the X-Files you'll like this one too. It gives a lot to think about! I'm also sure we'll see the well playing young actors again soon in another movie.