Since talk about this film has been doing the rounds and it is controversial enough to have been banned in Germany, I decided to track it down. For what could possibly be so 'bad', so 'racist', about a film directed by someone with no known Rightist sympathies, whose lead actor identifies as 'half-Jewish', has been accused of rape, has experimented with homosexual acts via Grindr hookups, and who has been accused of having cannibalistic desires by multiple women? Isn't this just like the film version of Kanye West's 'Heil Hitler' song? A novelty that will be forgotten as fast as it emerged?
What to expect regarding themes:
You do *not* want children anywhere near this. Nor anyone faint-hearted or with a weak stomach. Nevertheless, there are no themes in it that haven't been outdone by other films. Thus, I conclude that Germany's refusal to apply a classification to the film - which effectively bans it - is purely because of its supposed 'potential' to incite violence against immigrants, and not because of any of the below themes.
When we discard this kind of paranoia about its criminogenic potential and look at the movie calmly and rationally, what do I personally think that its classification should be? For whom is this movie safe? Why would I say that this film clearly deserves an R/NC/Adults Only/equivalent film classification rather than a refusal to classify, i.e. a ban in all but name?
Medium-to-Strong Sexual Themes/Nudity: There is a lengthy sex scene involving a prostitute. Said scene also adds nothing to the plot. A flashback of a rape (by nons) later occurs, but, unlike the former scene, this scene is not explicit.
Medium-Level Coarse Language: Throughout the whole film.
Mild Drug Use (no recreational drug use): Two White males try to spike two White women's drinks with an unspecified liquid date rape drug with the intent of taking them to a hotel to rape them. A White male Leftist or liberal judge is injected with an unspecified, similar drug, the protagonist later remarks to the incapacitated judge that it probably feels like heroin. Alcohol consumption occurs at various points, and alcohol is also spilled over the judge as the protagonist tries to pass off his murder of the judge as a guilt-induced suicide.
Strong Violence: Like other Boll films, this uses violence against civilians to be controversial, shocking, and transgressive. For instance, a White woman is fatally stabbed in the neck by a negroid in the first few minutes. (This is the kind of scene that would horrify Western governments.) Violence against the pigs is another commonality with other Boll films. SWAT comes after the protagonist. At least one pig's head explodes in the ensuing shoot-out. The blood and gore effects are generally graphic and won't disappoint those who enjoy such content.
Overall verdict: This film is something of a novelty and will probably attract a cult following. Otherwise, it is par for the course. One has the sneaking suspicion that if the races were reversed: a non-white tough guy killing White rapists and cops, this movie would be hailed as progressive and certainly not subject to any bans. Thus, one could think of it as a typical action film wearing an unusual skin; it inverts our usual expectations: a cold, emotionless American tough guy is the protagonist while the antagonists are violent criminal nons, along with SWAT and Leftist judges.
Is there any genuinely 'racist' content at all? The answer is flatly no: no mention is even made of race, no racial slurs appear in the dialogue, etc. Leftists are simply getting het up because Boll wasn't afraid to depict nons as murderers and rapists, even though they were in the specific rape incident that the rape incident in the film is based on. 'Islamic extremists and the woke Left' is probably the closest dialogue to anything 'racist', but, ultimately, that's just civic nationalist language at most.
A brief aside: This film was shot entirely in Croatia and has many Croatian names in the credits. However, the film's world is not any specific country. It is only clear that it occurs somewhere in Europe. Whether intended or not, this makes sense because these problems are now everywhere in Europe, after all. The fact that it could be anywhere at all in Europe strengthens its case: to Europeans, the film is no longer about 'just some other country', but your own.
One wonders if Boll had great trouble trying to find a country that would permit him to shoot scenes for this film, leading him to approach more obscure countries. He certainly would not have been able to shoot this in Germany.
What to expect regarding themes:
You do *not* want children anywhere near this. Nor anyone faint-hearted or with a weak stomach. Nevertheless, there are no themes in it that haven't been outdone by other films. Thus, I conclude that Germany's refusal to apply a classification to the film - which effectively bans it - is purely because of its supposed 'potential' to incite violence against immigrants, and not because of any of the below themes.
When we discard this kind of paranoia about its criminogenic potential and look at the movie calmly and rationally, what do I personally think that its classification should be? For whom is this movie safe? Why would I say that this film clearly deserves an R/NC/Adults Only/equivalent film classification rather than a refusal to classify, i.e. a ban in all but name?
Medium-to-Strong Sexual Themes/Nudity: There is a lengthy sex scene involving a prostitute. Said scene also adds nothing to the plot. A flashback of a rape (by nons) later occurs, but, unlike the former scene, this scene is not explicit.
Medium-Level Coarse Language: Throughout the whole film.
Mild Drug Use (no recreational drug use): Two White males try to spike two White women's drinks with an unspecified liquid date rape drug with the intent of taking them to a hotel to rape them. A White male Leftist or liberal judge is injected with an unspecified, similar drug, the protagonist later remarks to the incapacitated judge that it probably feels like heroin. Alcohol consumption occurs at various points, and alcohol is also spilled over the judge as the protagonist tries to pass off his murder of the judge as a guilt-induced suicide.
Strong Violence: Like other Boll films, this uses violence against civilians to be controversial, shocking, and transgressive. For instance, a White woman is fatally stabbed in the neck by a negroid in the first few minutes. (This is the kind of scene that would horrify Western governments.) Violence against the pigs is another commonality with other Boll films. SWAT comes after the protagonist. At least one pig's head explodes in the ensuing shoot-out. The blood and gore effects are generally graphic and won't disappoint those who enjoy such content.
Overall verdict: This film is something of a novelty and will probably attract a cult following. Otherwise, it is par for the course. One has the sneaking suspicion that if the races were reversed: a non-white tough guy killing White rapists and cops, this movie would be hailed as progressive and certainly not subject to any bans. Thus, one could think of it as a typical action film wearing an unusual skin; it inverts our usual expectations: a cold, emotionless American tough guy is the protagonist while the antagonists are violent criminal nons, along with SWAT and Leftist judges.
Is there any genuinely 'racist' content at all? The answer is flatly no: no mention is even made of race, no racial slurs appear in the dialogue, etc. Leftists are simply getting het up because Boll wasn't afraid to depict nons as murderers and rapists, even though they were in the specific rape incident that the rape incident in the film is based on. 'Islamic extremists and the woke Left' is probably the closest dialogue to anything 'racist', but, ultimately, that's just civic nationalist language at most.
A brief aside: This film was shot entirely in Croatia and has many Croatian names in the credits. However, the film's world is not any specific country. It is only clear that it occurs somewhere in Europe. Whether intended or not, this makes sense because these problems are now everywhere in Europe, after all. The fact that it could be anywhere at all in Europe strengthens its case: to Europeans, the film is no longer about 'just some other country', but your own.
One wonders if Boll had great trouble trying to find a country that would permit him to shoot scenes for this film, leading him to approach more obscure countries. He certainly would not have been able to shoot this in Germany.
The worst part of this movie is you're constantly waiting for it to make it's point, but it never does. But there's so much missed opportunities. Protag is a landlord; how does dealing with mass migration affect his business? Protag is, himself, an immigrant; how does that contrast with the "bad" immigrants? Protag is from a monied family and it's suggested he'd be welcomed by the elite; why? And what political connections would his father have had, doing business in a foreign country? And how would protag deal with those connections, knowing he opposes their master plan?
If they wanted to make a pure revenge fantasy, they should have just had protag be an obsessive loner, stalking and murdering immigrants who escape justice, while Mr Interpol should have been a *local detective* tasked with hunting him down while questioning who is really in the right, having seen the crimes of these very migrants, torn between duty and Good.
As it is, this should have been a conspiracy movie. Protag should have spend his early life (he's nkt a migrant in this version) trying to legitimately fix the judicial system, including attempts to fix the social issues within his own buildings, only to realise that there's a cabal in control of the very government allowing and encouraging these acts, gradually working his way up the chain through flashbacks (all set *before* the beginning of the movie, not just at random). He's characterised as always taking personal charge of fixing problems so have him save a young White from a gang of nons and take them as a protege.
Over the years, he's built an information network within the political and judicial systems, using his real estate connections, and he proceeds to show Proteg the ropes and indoctrinates them (could be male or female) into how the system actually works. His master plan is to identify the cabal's agents in the government and then create a false flag making it look like it's a foreign terror attack, but actually surgically removing the cabal, which he gradually reveals. He's been subtly cultivating a parallel media machine in order to get the information out when the time comes but currently puts out accurate information on crime incidents and judicial abuses.
Concurrently, he's being hounded by the media, attacked through the courts, and personally targetted by a shadowy agency, due to his public stances. He's told by his employees that the business can't compete because all their competitors have secured lucrative government contracts for housing foreigners while he's trying every trick to lower rent for White families. He consistently lobbies for anti-immigration and anti-corruption bills. The media paints him as a "fascist" and runs fake stories about his (dead) family. There's a "special taskforce" hunting him, lead by a Diverse Female Agent of Colour. He knows he's racing against time and might not make it, which is where Proteg comes in.
Proteg is an unthinking normy who has the bad luck to get caught by an anti-White mob. Their saving is a turning point in their lives and they have a hard time believing the things the are told, but gradually comes around after seeing a number of "interventions" first hand. Protag finally takes them to a grooming house, owned by a competitor, where he rescues the girls and disables the groomers, then hands the gun to Proteg and asks what should be done; call the police, or apply a final solution themselves. Proteg, without any faith left in their justice system, pulls the trigger and executes them all, one by one, ignoring their pleas.
But Proteg can't handle the emotional fallout and distances themself from Protag to return to their home and family but realises they can't ignore what they've been told and can now see the signs everywhere. They use what Protag taught them to investigate connections between the grooming gangs and uncover a plot to traffic children to cabal members, run through Diverse Female Agent of Colour.
Meanwhile, Protag is nearly ready to spring his plan when he's betrayed by one of his sources, who is being blackmailed after taking a vacation on Little St James. He's publicly arrested as a terrorist and a huge show trial begins. This triggers his deadman's switch, sending Proteg the names of every known cabal member, which gives them a direct connection between the grooming plot and the cabal.
As the trial reaches it's crescendo, Proteg releases the evidence over the parallel networks, sparking mass protests and riots. In quick succession, a video is release calling for decisive action against the criminals responsible, the full list of names are dropped, and Proteg personally assissinates the highest ranking member of the cabal, dying in the process. Using the riots as cover, various members of the cabal are picked off using improvised car bombs, poison gas, and acts of individual violence. Nons flee the cities in droves as their homes and businesses are attacked. Headless, the military and police forces are unable to respond.
Protag is then quickly convicted and sentenced to death, but the court itself is overrun and he's freed. Using his networks he's able to call for order and, with the government in complete dissarray, the few remaining officials are able to conduct a purge and arrest of the surviving cabal members and take back control of the government. Emergency elections are held and Protag wins in a landslide, only to turn the position down in favour of the leader of the far-Right opposition party who lead the purge of the bureaucracy.
Protag is victorious but broken due to the loss of Proteg and the torture he received at the hands of Diverse Female Agent of Colour. He is asked by the new government what should be done to her and he tells them that, despite their personal clash and her role in the grooming scheme, she's just a cog in the bigger machine, and to deal with her the same as the rest.
Protag "retires" to his business where he monopolises the market due to having the only European tennants when migrants fled. He buys up the former migrant housing for cheap and repairs it, adding architectural flourishes and quality of life improvements aimed at building a little community in each property.
Proteg is given a massive state funeral and, though gone, they have inspired a generation of youth to fight for their people against all odds.
The new PM sets to work on revitalising the economy, securing borders, renegotiating trade, and creating a sustainable government. However, there are dark clouds on the horizon as allies of the cabal are deeply embedded into many other countries, setting up a sequel.