Hap movie review

In the success series “4 Blocks”, for the first time, moving genre images with the world of German rapeseed were perfectly brought into an organic symbiosis. The dense atmosphere, the uncompromising narrative style and the authentic attitude towards life of a subculture, which was often misunderstood or distorted in the local mainstream (such as in the Bushido cinema film “Times change you”), “4 blocks” have made a stylish pop-cultural phenomenon of sustainable effect.

“”Haps – crime does not pay“Is a direct echo of the success of” 4 blocks “. Director Ekrem Engizek (“Koxa”) is noticeably based on the style of the gangster series and pursues the ambitious goal of linking German rap with a deep milieus study-an approach that is particularly convincing when the film is consistently understood as an uncompromising jail thriller. However, the claim to deliver an educational added value at the same time always leads to obstacle contradictions and undermines the stringent narrative style.

Alexander Rothstein (Constantin von Jascheroff) lands behind bars and has to leave his pregnant wife (Xenia Assenza) behind alone. In his new reality, he is forced to share a cell with his unpredictable Arabic coil fellow inmate Khalil (Kais Setti) and the stoic Russian Viktor (Amir Israail “Asche” Aschenberger). Alex soon realizes that there is a very own brutal set of rules in prison.

Alex tries to make the best of his depressing situation and somehow escape the constant humiliations of Khalil. He gets in touch with the Kurdish gangster boss Mazlum (Cem Öztabakci), who experiences from Alex 'criminal past. Together they forge a risky plan and start a drug business from jail. But the alliance with Mazlum is anything but trusting, Alex is part of a dangerous game …

For the good thing

First of all, it is important to know that “haps – crime does not pay” is not just a film that is in itself, but part of a comprehensive campaign for the prevention of youth crime. Director Ekrem Engizek does not give an opportunity to emphasize this background in public – and not without reason: after all, he and a large part of the ensemble share a past in which dreams of respect and wealth ultimately ended behind cold prison walls.

It is undoubtedly an honorable concern to understand “haps-crime does not pay” as a comprehensive 360 ​​° project, which should illustrate how the way to crime inevitably leads to repentance and pain. But this is exactly where the problem lies: director and screenwriter Ekrem Engizek seldom manages to integrate this moral claim into the narrative. Instead of a subtle interweaving with the plot, the film relies on rapidly tiring instructions – above all by leading actor Constantin von Jascherschoff, who has to contribute from the off mantra -like sentences such as “Monster are not born, monster will be created”.

The moral appeals are increasingly leading to tonal discrepancies, since Engizek apparently also has a certain fascination for the merciless everyday life. Again and again the camera can be released on the tattooed body of Viktor, while an attack on a pedophile in the shower almost reaches an iconic quality due to the use of slow motion. The laws behind bars, the hierarchical structures, the violence, but also the sense of community – Engizek does not seem to be completely averse to this rough microcosm, even though it wants to constantly warn.

Mau-Mau also play gangsters

“Haps – Crime Doesn't Pay” is also one of the films that are increasingly effective with increasing duration. At the beginning it is difficult to resist one or the other grin, since the omnipresent use of product placements (UA DEF and GANT) and the liking to endeavor to sound the streets of the street gives more likely rustling script pages than on authenticity. Nevertheless, the film succeeds early on, with precise observations such as the fact that even Gangster Mau-Mau play, to create a remarkable lifestyle that breaks out the cold, hopelessness-drawn prison architecture quietly.

Over time, the staging is noticeable to its own rhythm, especially because the director openly admits in the second half of the film, which is at 128 minutes, openly admits that he is very well sued to the conventions of the American prison genre. The decisive turning point can also be clearly identified: Alex shaved his head in order to carry his increasing brutalization to the outside world. From the once blonde Tom-Schilling blend, suddenly a credible hard dog with the archaic presence of an Edward Norton from “American History X” becomes.

It is hardly significant that “haps-crime does not pay” his crime plot around Darknet, Bitcoin and drug trafficking is somewhat awkwardly constructed and at some point it no longer tries to question traditional ideals of masculinity, but rather puts them on display-often coupled with terms such as “honor” and “loyalty”. Ultimately, the film simply follows the rules of the dark thriller genre, which mainly deals with the immediate, adrenaline-driving effect-and that in a grim-rohe. As an impetuous jail triangle, the film works quite solidly and lets the soundtrack with rap icons such as Azad and arrest warrant, all the more powerful with the soundtrack.

A real discovery can also be emphasized: the future film projects by rapper ash promise potential. At the beginning, his performance looks a bit stiff, but his Viktor, who comes from St. Petersburg, is increasingly developing into a captivating figure. This is not only because ashes understands to create a noticeable intensity with minimal gestures and facial expressions. The rapper, who grew up in Bochum, also brings an engaging aura, which he now skilfully unfolds on the screen.

Conclusion: With “Haps – Crime Doesn't Pay”, director Ekrem Engizek lends himself a bit clumsy, but still determined in the tradition of brutal prison films. While the moral appeals appear frequently on, the film knows how to develop some intensity as a dark genre cinema.