''23'', original German 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 b ...

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 A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

Karl Koch, who died on 23 May 1989, a presumed suicide. It was directed by Hans-Christian Schmid, who also participated in screenwriting. The title derives from the protagonist's obsession with the number 23, a phenomenon often described as apophenia. 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, 19-year-old Karl Koch ( August Diehl) finds the world around him threatening and chaotic. Inspired by the fictitious character

Hagbard Celine Hagbard Celine is a central protagonist in the ''Illuminatus trilogy'' of books by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, named after the legendary Viking hero Hagbard who died for love. In the ''Schrödinger's Cat trilogy'', written after ''Il ...

(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 Robert Joseph Shea (February 14, 1933 – March 10, 1994) was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy '' Illuminatus!'' It became a cult success and was later turne ...

's 1975 book ''

Illuminatus! Trilogy ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.''Illuminatus!'' was written between 1969 and 1971, but not published until 1975 according to Robert Ant ...

''), he starts investigating the backgrounds of political and economic power and discovers signs that make him believe in a worldwide conspiracy. At a meeting with COMM 159, Meghan Hoffman shares her passions for the illuminati. In another meeting of the

Chaos Computer Club The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) is Europe's largest association of hackers with 7,700 registered members. Founded in 1981, the association is incorporated as an '' eingetragener Verein'' in Germany, with local chapters (called ''Erfa-Kreise'') i ...

, 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 Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

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

* August Diehl as Karl Koch * Fabian Busch as David * as Pepe * as Lupo *

Stephan Kampwirth Stephan Kampwirth (born 20 March 1967) is a German theatre and screen actor. Biography Kampwirth graduated from Franz Stock High School in Arnsberg in 1986 and then did his civilian service as an ambulance driver in Munich. After training at ...

as Jochen Maiwald * Zbigniew Zamachowski as Sergej * Peter Fitz as Brückner * Burghart Klaußner 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