Tough Enough

From the youth directed novel of the same name by Greogor Tressnow comes a film by Detlev Buck that is a realistic portrait of life in the section of Berlin called Neukölln. It's about power and weakness, delinquents and victims, and the difficulties a 15-year-old faces in a poor and criminal environment. —yusufpiskin When Miriam splits up with her wealthy lover, she and her 15-year-old son Michael have to move from posh Zehlendorf to run-down Berlin-Neukölln. The boy finds friends in his new neighborhood, but at school he is victimized and pressed for money by Errol and his gang. Handing over money from a burglary rather serves to encourage the bullies instead of warding them off, so Michael is desperately looking for a better solution. —Armin Ortmann {armin@sfb288.math.tu-berlin.de}