Schock is a film from 2023

Bruno (Denis Moschitto) is a doctor in Cologne, but recently lost his license. Now he takes care of injured people without asking many questions - the main thing is that he can continue working no matter what. One day a lawyer offers him the opportunity to treat a criminal who has leukemia. Bruno's ambition is immediately aroused, but there is a huge catch: With his semi-legal work, he ends up in the shadowy world of crime and he gets caught between the fronts of two rival groups. In addition, he is moving further and further away from his old orderly life. Can he still make the jump to legal life? Events soon threaten to take a dangerous turn...

Schock is a film typical of the genre that takes us into the darkest corners of Cologne. The camera work is always close to the characters so that we are shown a certain intense atmosphere. This reminds us of the Pusher trilogy by Nicolas Winding Refn. However, these came with analogue images that made the atmosphere and the environment seem even dirtier and more authentic, which unfortunately doesn't create a shock.

The film scores points with surprisingly brutal moments of violence that aren't an end in themselves but rather contribute to what the characters do in terms of the story. These fit into the plot as if they were hatched and dispense with unnecessary explanatory backstories.

I went into this film not knowing what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying it. In Germany there have not been a lot of good genre films in the last couple of years so this one really stood out. It is a gangster story but more in a "Drive" (2011) kind of way rather that a classical gangster picture. The look reminded me of "Good Time" (2017) or generally the Safdie Brothers' films. Here they managed to portray the city of Cologne with a uniquely dark and dirty look and it's mafia as grim and brutal as it gets.

I can recommend this to anyone who was also waiting for more genre movies in Germany.