Exoticalot
People are voting emotionally.
Hayden Kane
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Ella-May O'Brien
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Cristal
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
Juha Varto
Faith Akin's best movie so far, better than Berlin-Winner Against the Wall. The story is really romantic: three guys with different ethnic roots are best friends and bestow meaning to each other's lives. They are very physical, they kiss and hug their friends and relatives, they live fast and they fight like primates. They have their dreams, their loves and most of all they are ridden by their idea of honor. This honor is very Mediterranean: it is flexible and spares one's ideals even if the deeds one must go through would ruin them. The guys love each other, fiercely, as if they were one person in three bodies. They also behave like one person: quarrels they have are presented as if being some inner wars of someone who is very sensitive and honest. This film, however, lacks all the syrupy sentimentalism we know from American equivalents. The guys are real flesh, their tears are salty and they don't feel sorry for themselves.
ChWasser
Why this movie was a failure at the German box-office will always be a mystery to me. Fatih Akin, the director, was obviously influenced by Martin Scorsese's and Brian DePalma's first movies but he didn't try to imitate them. Instead he made one of the first movies which truly celebrates the 'Multikulti'-society that Germany has become (At least in the larger cities).You can't help but like the Turkish, Serbian and Greek protagonists albeit they are criminals. The characters are far too alive and three-dimensional to be seen as stereotypes/cliches thrown in to reinforce prejudices.To me, KURZ UND SCHMERZLOS was the best German movie of 1998 (Even better than LOLA RENNT) and I recommend it to anyone who likes MEAN STREETS, Matthieu Kassovitz' LA HAINE or the films of Lars Becker. 9 out of 10.
Heizer
I don't think skinheads will love it -- the protagonist is a Turk. There are some unrealistic things in the movie (e.g. when Costas says Gabriel's sister -- who just left Costas -- "is a bitch" and Gabriel nearly does nothing, though it should have indignated his family's honour), but in the whole it is a good study of the milieu. I found my opinion shared by many young immigrants (Turkish, Libanese, Arabian).
Suha
Look,how this film is bewitched. The best character is played by Ralph Herforth as Muhamer: (Wenn dir deine Freundin dumm kommt, hau ihr eine rein. Und jetzt iss.) The film has a perfect music score.