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Film Data
System Crasher  2019
Systemsprenger
Director:  Nora Fingscheidt
Producer:
  Peter Hartwig, Jonas Weydemann and Jakob Weydemann
Art Director:
  Marie-Luise Balzer
Editor:
  Stephan Bechinger and Julia Kovalenko
Music:
  John Gürtler
Screenplay:
  Nora Fingscheidt
Director of Photography:
  Yunus Roy Imer
slideshow
Cast:
spacer1 Helena Zengel
spacer1 Albrecht Schuch
spacer1 Gabriela Maria Schmeide
spacer1 Lisa Hagmeister
spacer1 Melanie Straub
spacer1 Victoria Trauttmansdorff
spacer1 Maryam Zaree
spacer1 Tedros Teclebrhan
spacer1 Matthias Brenner
spacer1 Louis von Klipstein
spacer1 Barbara Philipp
spacer1 Amelie Schwerk
spacer1 Helena Zengel spacer1 Albrecht Schuch spacer1 Gabriela Maria Schmeide
spacer1 Lisa Hagmeister spacer1 Melanie Straub spacer1 Victoria Trauttmansdorff
spacer1 Maryam Zaree spacer1 Tedros Teclebrhan spacer1 Matthias Brenner
spacer1 Louis von Klipstein spacer1 Barbara Philipp spacer1 Amelie Schwerk
spacer1 Helena Zengel spacer1 Albrecht Schuch
spacer1 Gabriela Maria Schmeide spacer1 Lisa Hagmeister
spacer1 Melanie Straub spacer1 Victoria Trauttmansdorff
spacer1 Maryam Zaree spacer1 Tedros Teclebrhan
spacer1 Matthias Brenner spacer1 Louis von Klipstein
spacer1 Barbara Philipp spacer1 Amelie Schwerk

Synopsis:

The feature debut from documentarist Nora Fingscheidt, the often harrowing drama Systemsprenger / System Crasher has had colossal success both domestically and around the international film festivals, the film almost making a clean sweep of the 2020 German Film Awards, winning eight out of ten nominations, taking Best Direction, both Best Performance by an Actor and Actress in a Leading Role (Albrecht Schuch and Helena Zengel), Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Gabriela Maria Schmeide), Best Screenplay, Outstanding Feature Film, Best Editing and Best Sound, in addition to taking both the Silver Bear and the Reader Jury of the Berliner Morgenpost prize at the Berlin International FF and picking up assorted awards and accolades at festivals as far-flung as Les Arcs in Savole, France; Molodist in Kyiv in the Ukraine, Noordelijk in the Netherlands; Palm Springs, Sãn Paolo, Santiago, Taipei and Zurich, more than thirty overall. In addition Helena Zengel, only ten years old at time of filming, also snabbed ‘Best Creative Performance’ at the Emden International FF, and individual awards from Palm Springs and Santiago, her performance also landing her a co-starring role opposite Tom Hanks in Paul Greengrass’ frontier drama News Of The World.

The title is the nickname given in German government bodies to children in care who won’t or can’t fit into any organised facility or structure, no mater how gently and kindly why are treated and how good their intentions towards them are. Zengel plays Benni, a nine-year-old girl who positively defines the term. Her only aim is to return to her home with her single mother, Bianca (Lisa Hagmeister - All Is Well), but there is a major problem in that her mother is genuinely terrified of her own child, she being given to uncontrollable fits of rage and violence which have caused Bianca to surrender her to the authorities. Wherever Benni is placed she is soon back in the system, her carers being completely unable to cope with her, the child’s rage being indicated by the screen turning into a pink mist as she descends into almost feral anger, unable to articulate her emotions. Realising the scale of the problem, the kindly Frau Bafané (Gabriela Maria Schmeide - The White Ribbon) from child protection services is determined to find a permanent placement for Benni, and employs Michael Heller (Albrecht Schuch - Berlin Alexanderplatz), an anger management trainer to act as her school escort and for once there seems to be hope for Benni, or is this just the intelligent and wilful girl starting to work the system to her own ends, with nothing having actually changed?

Although constantly keeping the audience on edge, young Benni being a truly frightening figure despite her diminutive stature, Fingscheidt is also fair in her characterisations. The care workers are often frustrated and exhausted, but are dedicated to those they help, both children and parents, and while Benni is almost depicted at times as a monster, it is also clear that her fury is a symptom of her own fears and confusion over what is happening to her, since what would end the problems, at least in Benni’s mind is obvious, but her mother is insistent that she cannot deal with Benni as well as her two younger children, and in keeping Benni away is actually protecting her siblings.

Fingscheidt is also brutally realistic in her script, offering no neat and tidy solutions or answers in the film’s 125 minute running time, which may be just too gruelling and exhausting to some, but does at least offer some seemingly genuine hope, which may just be the best possible result. Critical response was strong, with many praising the central performance, CineEuropa noting that Zengel ‘…turns out to be a force of nature and a real master stroke for the film. Her performance is incredibly nuanced, reflecting highly convincing sentiments of anger, kindness and despair. All of the supporting adult roles are also played very believably, particularly those performed by Albrecht Schuch and Gabriela Maria Schmeide’, and The Observer admitting ‘Most essential is the central performance: Zengel’s oscillating wild joys and storming furies are painful to watch. A moment when she howls for her mother (always tantalisingly out of reach) brought me to tears’. Movie Nation called her ‘ …a balled-up fist of energy in the title role, getting across the sweetness that can convince those who take pity on Benni that ‘she’s making progress,’ but unleashing hell in a flash to remind them she isn’t’.

The Irish Times called the film ‘a wildly impressive first narrative feature, powered along by a strong cast, great chemistry, virtuoso flourishes, and fierce energy’.

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