"Oi! Warning" or "Oi! Warning - Leben auf eigene Gefahr" or "Fettes Gras" is a German movie from 1999, so this one has its 20th anniversary soon. It runs for slightly under 90 minutes and is in black-and-white, which was a solid creative decision here I guess. It was written and directed by the Rüding Brothers and is probably their most known work, also in terms of awards recognition. Basically, you could say about this film that it feels like the German take on the very successful "American History X" from one year earlier, but as much as the ambition may be there, the talent is not most of the time. This also includes the actors as there were several moments where I felt it looked pretty amateurish really and not on the level of a "real" feature film. It is tough to say if the performers (horrible line delivery at times, so unrealistically wooden and over the top) or writers or directors are to blame, probably a mix of these components. You could easily see how they were trying to make an impact by depicting all kinds of political extremes in Germany in here that existed back then at least as strongly and radically as they exist today. But I also think it was a missed opportunity as the subject certainly deserves better execution and production values in all areas. Cast does not really include any big names here. The one who may come closest to being famous here in Germany is Sandra Borgmann because of her later projects. All in all, this film is not a failure, but it is certainly a disappointment. Is it a different movie? Most certainly. But for all the wrong reasons. I don't recommend seeing it. Thumbs-down.
Review of Oi! Warning
