23 (1998)

A fascinating movie. Wonderful story, camera and directing. And one of the most excellent casts I ever saw in any kind of movie. Great work!

Fmovies: 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.

An intriguing portrait of a young man drifting away from reality. And since that young man was a famous hacker with an unhealthy interest in conspiracies, the movie has got to be about conspiracies, right? Wrong. But that's exactly what the ads would like you to think. Very bad marketing for a very good movie. And beware: it can bring you to tears!! (Just thinking about that PDP in the rain makes me weep ... *sniff*)

23 fmovies. "23" is one of the best german movies for a long time. It is based on the story of the life of Karl Koch (August Diehl: excellent) who was one of the best hackers of his time. 23 is the number of the Illuminators, the members of a worldwide secret society in the book "Illuminatus" by Robert Anton Wilson (who has a short guest appearance). On his high point of hacking Koch broke into the computers of US government arms control and delivered the data to the KGB. The film is a trip back to the 80's: The cold war, Olof Palme's assassination, Gadhaffi and Tschernobyl - most of the viewers will remember those things which dominated policy and influenced the all day life. The film shows the development of Karl Koch from his teenage years to his death as a person destroyed by his cocaine abuse and the extreme pressure he experienced in the wheels of eatern/western policy. This is a very good movie with very good actors-don't miss it!

I think this is a great movie. It's focus is on the *person* Karl Koch, how he became the character he was in the end, and definitely not another "Hacker"-like movie or a story about the so-called "KGB-Hack" and how his group was finally busted. What makes this movie different from e.g. X-Files is that it is realistic; everyone can easily reconstruct how Karl Koch came to believe in the conspiracy-theories based on the "Illuminatus"-books - A believe that was increasingly strengthened by his ever increasing cocaine addiction. This is also a movie about friendship, false friends, and how friendship and trust are sacrificed to money and addiction.

In Fact, there are quiet many German movies which have brought the evidence to establish themselves as classics. In general these movies are dramas or comedies and very often they provide the viewer with historical informations of a certain time and area. However, what is often missing is suspense. Allhough German television is full of good crime stories and thrillers this Genre is hardly found in German cinema.

At least this is one reason why I like this movie so much. 23 allows to enter the mind of a burnt out, intelligent but unloved son, who tried to break out of his boring life by rebelling against his dominant father and the establishment of the mid 80th. Where as his protest uses to be more like coming out of a group behavior which is based on ideals his intention during the movie changes completely and ends up in a computer spy environment heavily connected with a continuous downward development of his mental and physical condition.

In one sentence: This movie is one of those that shouldn't end because you want to know more about everything,the whole thing, so deep you will place yourself into the plot and you don't want to leave it. 23 changed my life. Afterwards, I had another opinion about reality.

Check it out yourself, I extremely recommend this movies