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Chiko

Chiko

Movie · 2008 · 3 people

Fatih Akın produced Chiko, a German crime drama from 2008 that Özgür Yıldırım wrote and directed. Spoken in German and Turkish, it runs about 92 minutes. It opened in Turkey on 30 May 2008, distributed by Medyavizyon Film. Yıldırım, born in Hamburg in 1979, has been called the new Fatih Akın for his striking visuals.

İsa and his best friend Tibet, two angry young Turks from the suburbs of Hamburg, rate money, power and prestige above everything. İsa, known to all as Chiko, grew up in Germany and chose an illegal route to a comfortable life. He plans each step ahead, catches the attention of the drug trade's big names and is soon a link in the chain. That path also brings him to Brownie, the dealer who controls everything the two dream of. Tibet is an emotional young man who cannot think a step ahead: Chiko got him off heroin, and he hopes to pay for treatment for his mother, who is on dialysis. When Tibet falls out with Brownie, Chiko tries to hold a dangerous balance together.

The leads are Denis Moschitto, Moritz Bleibtreu and Fahri Yardım, with Volkan Özcan and Reyhan "Lady Ray" Şahin also in the cast. One Turkish-language review found the film wanting.

DirectorÖzgür Yıldırım

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Denis Moschitto Denis Moschitto Actor · 49 years old Moritz Bleibtreu Moritz Bleibtreu Film actor · 55 years old Fahri Yardım Fahri Yardım Actor · 46 years old

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Through different eyes

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Chiko holds up a harsh mirror to a section of the young Turks raised in Germany. The story of two angry young men in the Hamburg suburbs who rank money, power and prestige above all shows how that anger can turn into an ambition to rise by illegal means. The way German and Turkish are spoken side by side conveys, without comment, an identity caught between two languages. Details such as a mother on dialysis and a friend pulled back from heroin make the poverty and family pressure behind the crime visible. Still, the film prefers watching the conflict itself to exploring the causes of this world.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

A young man rising fast in the drug trade, a dealer who controls everything and a friend who upsets the balance: all the ingredients for tension are there. At about 92 minutes, the story stays tight. The cast of Denis Moschitto, Moritz Bleibtreu and Fahri Yardım brings solid energy too. But the characters' anger sometimes gets ahead of the plot, and I'd have liked a clearer escalation.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

This film is not suitable for watching with the family. Drug dealing, addiction and the criminal world sit right at the heart of the story. Its heavy themes make it wrong for children and younger teens. For adults, though, it can be a thought-provoking look at the hard lives of young people from migrant families. Be aware, too, that one Turkish-language review found it wanting.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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