Film Archive

Tough Enough (Knallhart)

Fifteen-year-old Michael Polischka is thrown into the gritty urban world of a rough ethnic neighborhood, far from the posh suburbs he’s used to. Beatings and extortion by a gang of violent bullies makes public high school miserable for Michael. Life at home isn’t much better since he has to put up with the guys his pretty young mom entertains in her desperate search for a new man. Michael’s life turns around when urbane crime lord Hamal takes him under his wing. Michael’s honest face makes him the perfect guy for drug deliveries to local dealers. The teenager handles the tension of these dangerous missions like a pro. Michael proves he’s tough enough, but eventually finds out he’s actually in way over his head.

Detlev Buck was born in 1962 in Bad Segeberg and made his fame as an actor, director and screenwriter at the tender age of 22. Following high school and alternate military service, he made the short film Time to Knock Off (Erst die Arbeit und dann...?), which quickly became a cult classic. His first feature as a director was Rabbit Fever (Karniggels), which won the Bavarian Film Prize. He followed this up with 1993's No More Mr. Nice Guy (Wir koennen auch anders), which garnered an honorable mention at the Berlin Film Festival and two German Film Awards. His next film, Jailbirds (Maennerpension), which he directed and starred in, made stars of the two female leads, Heike Makatsch and Marie Baeumer. In 2004, he was awarded the German Film Award as Best Supporting Actor for his role in Berlin Blues (Herr Lehmann), directed by Leander Haussmann. His other works as a director are: Tough Enough (Knallhart), Hands Off Mississippi (Haende weg von Mississippi), both of which won German Film Awards in several categories, and Same Same But Different.
 

Genre Drama
Category Feature Film Cinema
Year of Production 2006
Director Detlev Buck
Screenplay Zoran Drvenkar, Gregor Tessnow
Director of Photography Kolja Brandt
Editor Dirk Grau
Production Design Udo Kramer
Producer Claus Boje
Production Company Boje Buck Produktion/Berlin, in co-production with WDR/Cologne, ARTE/Strasbourg
Principal Cast David Kross, Jenny Elvers-Elbertzhagen, Erhan Emre, Oktay Oezdemir, Kida Khodr Ramadan, Arnel Taci, Kai Michael Mueller, Hans Loew
Casting Astrid Rosenfeld
Length 98 min, 2,695 m
Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85
Original Version German
Subtitled Versions English, Spanish
Sound Technology Dolby SRD
Festival Screenings Berlin 2006 (Panorama), Shanghai 2006, Karlovy Vary 2006, European Film Fest Palic 2006, Warsaw 2006, Ghent 2006, Cinéma Tout Ecran Geneva 2006, Manaki Brothers Bitola 2006, Cairo 2006, Tallinn Black Nights 2006, Havana 2007
Awards FIPRESCI Award, Label Europa Cinemas Award Berlin 2006, German Film Awards 2006 (Silver Best Film, Best Editing, Best Music), Palic Tower Award for Unique Artistic Approach 2006, Bronze Camera 300 Bitola 2006
With backing from German Federal Film Board (FFA), BKM, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg
German Distributor Delphi Filmverleih/Berlin

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