Ricki is 15, an apprentice in a supermarket, and admires his older brother Sven, a big shot in Hamburg's red-light district who keeps his head above water with thefts and drug deals. In Ricki's eyes, nobody comes close to his brother. It is only when Sven humiliates Ricki and tries to force him to sleep with a showgirl in front of him that the older brother loses his godlike role model status. Ricki, the “Arschbackenzukneifer”, takes revenge, and Sven will have to suffer badly on his own turf.
Acting
Kretschmann's pre-Hollywood menace and Heinz's trembling rage.
Direction
Lemke's handheld intimacy makes Hamburg's neon feel claustrophobic.
Director
Klaus Lemke
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Thomas Kretschmann filmed this just before fleeing to Hollywood; it's his last German-language role for nearly a decade.
Lemke shot guerrilla-style in actual St. Pauli locations, catching real sex workers and bar patrons who didn't know they were in a movie.
DE
