Considering
the shadowy cyber-activist outfit known as FR13NDS decks out their avatars with
masks clearly inspired by the terrorist protagonist of V for Vendetta, it is probably safe to assume the sanctity of life
is not a big priority for them. However, a hero-worshipping hacker will be
rather disappointed to learn they are in league with the Russian mob.
Unfortunately, this revelation comes after he ever so ill-advisedly passes
along some highly secretive intel. Cyber monkey-wrenching inevitably turns into
cyber-terror in Baran bo Odar’s Who Am I—No
System is Safe (trailer
here),
which screens as part of Kino! 2015, the festival of German Films in New York
City.
Life
has not worked out so well for Benjamin, at least so far. Yet, it always makes
more sense when he is in front of a computer screen. Since he bought into the propaganda
disseminated by FR13NDS, Benjamin has become one of the sycophants hanging on
the pronouncements of the group’s shadowy leader, Mr. X, in super-secret online
forums. He is not the only one. A chance meeting during court mandated
community service with the mercurial Max will bring the two kindred spirits
together. Together with Max’s old co-conspirators, they form CLAY (“Clowns
Laughing At You”) in hopes of impressing Mr. X with their socially conscious
prankersterism.
Much
to the temperamental Max’s frustration, Mr. X remains dismissive of CLAY.
Yearning for online approval, they swing for the fences, launching a major
online and physical breach of the Federal intelligence service. Regrettably,
when Benjamin gives Mr. X a batch of unvetted classified files as proof-of-hack,
it leads to the gangland-style execution of government informants. Wanted for
murder, CLAY will have to take down Mr. X to clear their names.
It
might be awkwardly titled (“No system is safe” being one of Mr. X’s maxims),
but WAI—NSIS is a massively slick
thriller that offers a pointed critique of Vendetta
and Hacktivist culture in general, while also slyly riffing on Fight Club. Odar’s inventive
representations of cyberspace (in a dodgy looking subway car) are quite stylish
and cinematic. He also stages some impressive breaking-and-entering scenes and
seamlessly executes the third act mind-twister. Based on WAI—NSIS and his previous film, The Silence, it should not be long before Odar is recruited for a
major American studio thriller gig.
The
cast might have to wait longer for a call from Hollywood, but they are all
reasonably solid. Tom Schilling (Generation War and A Coffee in Berlin) is
suitably earnest and nebbish as Benjamin. Elyas M’Barek also vents some convincing
spleen as the petulant Max, while Wotan Wilke Möhring and Antoine Monot Jr. add
seasoning as their unlikely looking accomplices. On the other hand, it is
difficult to fathom Hannah Herzsprung’s appeal as Marie, the charmless object
of Benjamin’s affections.
