Wut / Rage

Züli Aladag (2006)

Germany

Genre: Coming-of-age story

Züli Aladag's critically acclaimed film deals with the antagonism between Can, son of Turkish immigrants, and the Laub family, an outwardly liberal middle-class family, 40-year-old literature professor Simon Laub and his estate agent wife Christa live with their son Felix in a safe and quiet Berlin neighbourhood. But for some time Felix has been in trouble with Can, son of a well-respected shop owner in the district, who is bullying him and stealing from him. While Felix is trying to play down Can's behaviour and simply wants to get on with life, his father Simon is becoming increasingly angry by the boy's attacks and decides to talk to Can's father, asking him to rein in his son. Thus confronted and humiliated, Can's anger knows no boundaries and a sprial of violence and revenge ensues which ends in a climax reminiscent of Haneke's Funny Games. 

German public broadcaster ARD originally planned to screen Rage in its prime time slot, but postponed it due to the explosive plot, a decision that caused controversey in Germany. 

For more information about the controversey surrounding Aladag's film see under Links and Reviews http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wut_(Fernsehfilm)

Keywords: culture clash; diasporic youth film; gang culture and violence; problematic father figures and masculinity

Posted by Daniela Berghahn on 13 Dec 2007 •

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