''23'', original

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

title: ''23 – Nichts ist so wie es scheint'' ("Nothing is what it seems") is a 1998 German

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

about young hacker Karl Koch, who died on 23 May 1989, a presumed suicide. It was directed by

Hans-Christian Schmid Hans-Christian Schmid (born 1965) is a German film director and screenwriter. Life and work Hans-Christian Schmid has collaborated with on several of the movies that he directed. Gutmann wrote screenplays for ''23 (film), 23 — Nichts ist so ...

, who also participated in screenwriting. The title derives from the protagonist's obsession with the number 23, a phenomenon often described as

apophenia Apophenia () is the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things. The term (German: ' from the Greek verb ''ἀποφαίνειν'' (apophaínein)) was coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in his 1958 publication on the b ...

. 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 main events.

Plot

In 1980s Germany at the height of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, 19-year-old Karl Koch (

August Diehl August Diehl (; born 4 January 1976) is a German actor, primarily known to international audiences for playing Gestapo major Dieter Hellstrom in Quentin Tarantino's ''Inglourious Basterds'' and Michael "Mike" Krause, Evelyn Salt's husband, in the ...

) finds the world around him threatening and chaotic. Inspired by the fictitious character Hagbard Celine (from

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...

and Robert Shea's 1975 book '' Illuminatus! Trilogy''), he starts investigating the backgrounds of political and economic power and discovers signs that make him believe in a worldwide

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

. At a meeting with COMM 159, Meghan Hoffman shares her passions for the illuminati. In another meeting of the Chaos Computer Club, Karl gets to know the student David (Fabian Busch). David and Karl are able to hack into the global data network—which is still, at this point, in its early stages—and their belief in social justice propels them into espionage for the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

. Driven by contacts with a drug dealer—and by increasing KGB pressure to hack successfully into foreign systems—Karl spirals into a

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

dependency and grows increasingly alienated from David. In a drug-addled state, Karl begins to sit in front of his computer for days at a time. Perpetually sleepless, he also grows increasingly delusional. When David publicly reveals the espionage activity in which the two men have been engaged, Karl is left alone to face the consequences. Collapse soon follows. Karl is taken to a hospital to deal with his drug addiction and mysteriously dies after his supposed hacking of Chernobyl .

Cast

as Karl Koch *

Fabian Busch Fabian Busch (born 1 October 1975) is a German actor. He has appeared in more than sixty films since 1993.Kino 1995- Issues 58-70 - Page 270 "Koch and his buddy David (Fabian Busch) find employment in the services of the KGB, thanks to Lupo (Die ...

as David * as Pepe * as Lupo * Stephan Kampwirth as Jochen Maiwald *

Zbigniew Zamachowski Zbigniew Zamachowski (; born 17 July 1961) is a Polish actor. Life and career He was born on 17 July 1961 in Brzeziny near Łódź. Zamachowski graduated from the actor's faculty of the National Film School in Łódź. He began his acting career ...

as Sergej *

Peter Fitz Peter Fitz (8 August 1931 – 10 January 2013) was a German stage and film actor. Biography Fitz completed an apprenticeship at the drama school of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg in the 1950s. In the 1960s, engagements at the Schaus ...

as Brückner *

Burghart Klaußner Burghart Klaußner (born 13 September 1949) is a German film actor. He received acting training at the in Berlin. Klaußner had engagements at Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin, Hamburger Kammerspiele and at the theaters in Cologne Cologne ...

as Weber * as Beate * as Alex * as Seybert

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:23 (Film) 1998 films 1990s biographical drama films 1990s thriller drama films German thriller drama films 1990s German-language films 1990s English-language films 1990s Russian-language films Films directed by Hans-Christian Schmid Films about suicide Films set in West Germany Films set in East Germany Films set in the 1980s Films shot in Germany Films shot in Cologne German biographical drama films Malware in fiction Films about computer hacking 1998 multilingual films German multilingual films 1999 films Films about the KGB 1990s German films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links