Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Führer Ex" is certainly as baity as it gets and I guess they had success with that as this fairly mediocre movie is a lot more known than it really should be. Director here is Winfried Bonengel and he also adapted Ingo Hasselbach's autobiographic work for the screen. Still I think there is a reason why nobody from the cast really (with one exception, I come to that later) is in famous fames these days anymore and same also goes for Bonengel who went on to direct terrible television series after this project and none of the works he made before or after this one comes close to this one in terms of popularity.The movie runs for 100 minutes and tells us about the lives of 2 GDR citizens who are sick of their country and try to flee. However, instead of becoming respectable FRG citizens, they switch to the other side and end up on the far right. Most of the movie is about depicting what happens when they were in jail. Easily the best thing about this film is Dieter Laser, he is the one I was referring to previously as he is still well-known today. He plays a prison inmate who killed his wife and talks all about self-defense, but it becomes so obvious that this is not what happened. That scene, as brutal as it was, was also pretty hilarious because of Laser's insane line delivery. Sadly, the rest of the film is almost in its entirety forgettable and there are very few memorable moments. Even the ending does not feel authentic, but just dramatic for the sake of it. I do not recommend this film.

johannes2000-1 Apart from a few disappointing aspects, I really enjoyed the movie. I think the two main actors did an excellent job. Aaron Hildebrand (as Tommy) started out as a daredevil kind of bad guy, awed by his friend Heiko, and he kept up this attitude throughout the whole movie. It's only when the circumstances around him change for the worse, especially in the last part of the movie when he's confronted with the Neo-Nazi's who want to tow him in, that we see how, in comparison with the others, he has in fact the better character: maybe a bit streetwise, but with both feet firmly on the ground, and loyal to his friend. Hildebrand definitely has charisma and a very easy and natural way of acting.Christian Blümel (Heiko) was very convincing too as the susceptible youngster who looses his innocence by brutal force. He's really a very promising actor, see for instance the scene where he is visited in prison by the girl he loves, he's just so moving in his bewilderment and happiness and shame all at the same time! But he especially deserves high credits for his performance during the crucial scene with the sexual assault in the showers (in uncompromising full frontal nudity!), he succeeded in making the emotional impact very believable, totally overwhelmed, not being able to counter-act and at last physically and psychologically devastated. And later on in the movie Blümel's portrayal of the slickly groomed Neo-Nazi, shouting his speech with a distorted face to a Sieg Heil-yelling mob was very blood-chilling. On the other side there were several things amiss in this movie. For instance: to me the transition of Heiko was too abrupt. He's jolted into the isolation-cell as someone who loathes the Nazi's, but when he at last stumbles out we see him shake hands with the local Nazi-leader, and in the next scene (several years later) we suddenly see him as a Neo-Nazi-leader of his own. We don't get to witness any gradually change to make this understandable. Or are we supposed to believe that being locked up for who knows how long turns you so insane that you end up being a Nazi?The guards in this fierce communistic prison all seemed a bit puffy and aging, as were most of the inmates, who hardly seemed a realistic physical threat to an athletic boy of twenty-something. And the escape from prison by Tommy lacked any realism whatsoever: it's totally unbelievable to me that an inmate in such a notorious and supposedly well-guarded prison can just hop into a crate (in broad daylight and among a crowd of co-workers and guards) and let himself be carried out into freedom. Weren't they supposed to check outgoing vans with dogs or something?? And then I was also a bit disappointed in the ending: after the touching scene on the roof (Tommy dying in the arms of Heiko) we abruptly change to Heiko (some undefined time later) walking briskly and with a serious face through a sunny street in an (undefined) place. That's it: the end. So what are we supposed to conclude? Did he come to his senses after Tommy's death? The fact that his hair wasn't slick anymore possibly refers to that. But then how did he escape his fierce Nazi-friends?? Or did he maybe run of to Australia (Tommy brought him the tickets right before he died). Maybe that's exactly what the director wants us to do, to brood over this, but to me this last scene doesn't work, it doesn't add up to anything, it's just confusing. If anything, I would have preferred an ending with the scene on the roof, Heiko like a Romeo with his dead Juliette, crying out his despair and anger to heaven. All considered, the positive predominates: an emotionally involving and well acted movie.

towohlfahrt Fuehrer Ex is a film about East German Teens living in East Berlin in 1986. The Story revolves around 2 Characters, Heiko, Who looks up to his best friend Tommy, and Tommy who is obsessed with escaping East Berlin to the west. Tommy got himself arrested, because of Anti-Communist Behavior. In Prison Tommy got introduced to Neo-Nazism, and was released as a radical who wanted to convince Heiko of his new found religion. Heiko had no interest, but still remained a friend to Tommy, even after Tommy slept with his girlfriend. Tommy Convinced Heiko to escape to the west. But they got busted and send to prison. In prison Tommy Joined the Skin head Gang, while Heiko was being raped and abused by fellow inmates. Tommy still tried to protect Heiko, even though Heiko did not join the skinhead gang. One day heiko decided that he had enough of being raped, so he stabbed one of his cell mates, and ended up in solitary confinement. One of the prison supervisors blackmailed Tommy, by either informing the state of the neo-Nazi movement, or his friend heiko will be left in solitary confinement to rot. Tommy agreed with the Stasi and Heiko Joined the Neo-Nazi Group. Tommy then escaped Prison and made it to the east, while Heiko was left behind. Since Heikos protection was now gone, he became really involved with the Neo Nazis. Years pass and the wall fell in 1989. Tommy returned to East Berlin to find Heiko, but he as become a leader in the Neo-Nazi Community, in the meantime it seams that Tommy curved his neo-Nazi views. Heikos superiors had a copy of Tommy's Stasi File and discovered that Tommy was working for the state as an informant; they marked Tommy as a traitor and ordered heiko to kill Tommy. When heiko confronted Tommy, Tommy told heiko that he went over the top, and told him to forget the Nazis and run off to Australia with him. Then Tommy was killed by the neo-Nazi gang and the film ended with Heiko walking through the streets, just like Mark did at the end of Trainspotting.The Film was good in a sense of its graphic depiction of East German life, and prison violence. The ending was kind of week, and the story took a long time to get to its point. it has its similarities with History EX, but really it was a different story.

blncub definitly the worst film i've seen in years. don't be impressed by the subject of the film. the audience at the preview was either in hysterics on the floor from the incredible bad acting, or they left beforehand in disgust at the shabby treatment of the story. imagine one of the best stories you ever heard - in this case a true story - and now imagine the worst tv treatment - then you're not halfway there. the worst acting, boring, totally unrealistic (how did they manage to do that i don't know), unbearable dialogs...i could go on. i beg you not to see it. it's an offense to any thinking person, and totally gives a wrong image of what and how east berlin really was. the saving grace is one of the leading actor he deserves better and is - hopefully - a star in the making, and no it's not the blonde...:-)