Knallhart (Tough Enough)

'Tough Enough' (2006) unintentionally reminds one of Chris Morris' social satire programme 'Brass Eye' - well, the specific 'Society' episode. 'Tough Enough' is a film with things on its mind. The narrative takes place in a poverty-stricken Berlin neighbourhood. Where the local chavs speak 'swearhili', spend their free time 'git surfing' and local gangsters seem to model themselves on Scorsese's 'Goodfellas' (1990). Jokes aside, 'Tough Enough' fails as a message movie simply because it tries to be too many things all at once. It does not know whether to be a social issue drama, morality tale, gangster movie or a polemic on commodity fetishism. The confused editing and plethora of ideas and events within the film give it an incomplete feel - as if whole segments were cut out. The film's plots and sub-plots are terribly cluttered, and this disturbs and ultimately unbalances the thematic concerns prevalent within the film. Social realism is an enticing cinematic aesthetic and device - it allows directors, writers and actors to explore and show audiences their society 'like it really is'. The 'perceived' naturalism of setting, performance, handheld camerawork and often brutal storylines are an entire world away from other forms of cinema. Social realism can be seen as a type of fictionalised documentary.

Cinema was used as a political and social tool from very early on - the Russians masterfully advanced film both in its theoretical possibilities and in practice with their propaganda films. The role of cinema and its uses as a socio-political instrument was conveyed in a statement by Lenin himself, when he stated, 'Of all the arts, for us, cinema is the most important'. In the 1930s, American studios - especially Warner Brothers, released a series of social issue pictures heavily influenced by the Great Depression and the hopes offered by Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

'Tough Enough' initially sets out to examine a main character seemingly lost in a world of crime, bullying and harsh social conditions. This thoroughly 21st Century take on social realism - in which stylistic flourishes abound and a pop soundtrack adds to the youthful vibrancy, makes the film more MTV than Ken Loach. Multiculturalism is a buzz word in contemporary western societies used in both positive and negative terms - the influx of economic migrants into rich countries setting off all manner of concerns. The implications of multiculturalism have been portrayed before - films such as Alan Clarke's 'Made in Britain’ (1982), Stephen Fears 'My Beautiful Laundrette' (1985) to last year's 'This is England' (2006). ‘Tough Enough’ is set in a mixed-race community, although one loathes to use the term ‘race’ in differentiating other people. The film’s community is made up largely of white Germans and German Turks. ‘Tough Enough' explores the tensions of its setting (arguing that the latest generation of progeny have a problem integrating within their communities) but the whole thing feels incredibly reactionary and pays little attention to its deeper roots. Viewers expecting some Marxist working class tale of survival and social angst will be disappointed that the film steers its main narrative into gangster territory pretty quickly - and very unconvincingly.

The film charts the experiences of a teenager and his mother, who after being kicked out by her wealthy boyfriend, end up in social housing, in a rough part of Berlin. There is a telling piece of dialogue at the start of the film as Michael (David Kross) asks his mother (Jenny Elvers), 'So what you are going to do? Get a job as a cleaner?' 'Tough Enough' is not the story of riches to rags. It is not the tale of a brat and his mother learning to live and survive amongst the masses. Like 2004's 'The Educaktors’ - a film boasting a tagline of 'Your Days of Plenty Are Numbered', Detlev Buck’s movie explores consumerism, commodity fetishism along with the wider implications and effects on a certain demographic i.e. people living on sink estates. Miriam, the beautiful blonde, whose days of living the good life, solely based upon her looks and abilities to turn rich men on with great sex, is the most underused character in the film - that ‘Tough Enough’ chooses not to portray her as some vacuous airhead or saint/whore is a credit to the film. And ‘Tough Enough’ really does shine in its performances and character observations.

The film’s downbeat message for society is: We live in an era of consumerism and commodity fetishism; of needless violence - where moral values are replaced with a strict code of fear and punishment. The teenage gangs in the film do not even respect the local mobsters. The world of 'Tough Enough' is not overtly one of class antagonism per se, Michael comes from their environment but is coded as having 'material' wealth, he dresses differently - plainly, in a shirt, jeans and expensive trainers. He could easily pass as a kid whose parents are loaded. The obsession with class is a strangely European fixation. Something the cultural mindset has failed to get over. An effect of capitalism working in a free-market economy is that anybody can get rich - at least that is the perpetuated myth. Be it a man who started his life as a taxi driver and is now an entrepreneur or somebody who inherited their wealth, both can afford islands in the sun, a multitude of fast cars and the other vacuous trappings of success that money can buy. That so much emotional interest is imbued in objects raises interesting questions on commodity fetishism and are indeed, explored in ‘Tough Enough’. In an early scene, Michael’s expensive trainers are stolen - a common occurrence on the streets as advertisements have developed a mass psychological attitude that certain objects are worth coveting. Michael is a product of failed social climbing. On his first day at school, he is chided by his classmates simply because he lived in a middle-class suburb. He never explains that he was only in such surroundings due to his mother's penchant for rich men.

'Tough Enough' is at its most compelling during the first act as Michael struggles against a gang of bullies - both at school and on the estate. The scenes in which Errol (Oktay Özdemir), the chief antagonist, and cause of Michael's misery, beats him up and in one terrifying scene - places a metal bucket on his head attempting to hit him with a baseball bat are the strongest. The scenes having a gripping, intense realism that demonstrates the modern phenomenon of 'happy slapping' and filming violence on mobile phones. Michael's world is at once terrifyingly real and poignant in its scenes of social exchange and the prevalent threat of violence. When the film detours into a tale of gangsters, drugs and retribution, Michael is suddenly faced with even harsher realities. Bullying can lead to catastrophic consequences in the teenage world. In the adult world of ‘Tough Enough’ filled with gangsters, money launderers and dope fiends - violence is seen as a rite of passage and is ultimately and irreversibly corrupting.

Although seen murdering the cause of all his troubles in the film ‘s closing scenes, the film offers a deeply ambiguous ending for the viewer. The wordless final image of a boy exiting a prison cell with his mother it seems is puzzling. Michael’s story is told in flashback to a cop who has befriended his mother. This intimacy is at odds with the narrative development as the police officer appears in only a few scenes throughout the entire film. Michael’s turning to authority at the end of the film contravenes the lessons set forth and offered by the gangsters...lessons he willingly partakes in.

It is hard to call ‘Tough Enough’ a success in delivering its message, as it often feels to be aiming at too many subjects - within a cramped 98 minutes. In a film that attempts to model itself on ‘La Haine’ (1995) or ‘City of God’ (2002), it remains unconvincing. ‘La Haine’, with a phenomenal sense of timing, explored the generational struggle of young Parisians who are French by birth yet are told by the authorities that they are foreigners. ‘Tough Enough’ appears to think that everybody is to blame for the problems and conditions within the consumerist society that coverts wealth and objects above all things - a rather nihilistic approach, one would think. The film’s impact in its native Germany, where it has been garnered with awards, and opened a dialogue amongst politicians and the public, should not be discounted. In the country’s recent past, the Baader Meinhof gang’s revulsion at modern society was taken to extreme lengths. Next year will see the release of 'Der Baader-Meinhof Komplex' (2008), a big budget production starring Bruno Ganz and Moritz Bliebtreu. ‘Tough Enough’ is a film aiming at the hypocrisy of western culture and society. We live in a world in which moral laws and governments tell us not to steal and to conform yet turns consumer products into objects of desire. The film calls for a change. The problem is - where do we start?

Country: Germany
Budget:
Length: 98mins

Filmography:
'Der Baader-Meinhof Komplex', 2008, Uli Edel, Constantin Film Produktion
‘City of God’, 2002, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, O2 Filmes
‘La Haine’, 1995, Mathieu Kassovitz, Canal+
'The Educaktors', 2004, Hans Weingartner, Y3 Film
'This is England', 2006, Shane Meadows, Big Arty Productions
'My Beautiful Laundrette', 1985, Stephen Fears, Channel Four Films
'Made in Britain', 1982, Alan Clarke,
'Goodfellas', 1990, Martin Scorsese, Warner Bros. Pictures

Pub/2008

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The Sadist, 1963, directed by James Landis
The History Boys, 2006, directed by Nicholas Hytner
Seishun zankoku monogatari (Naked Youth), 1960, directed by Nagisa Oshima