23 (film)
Encyclopedia
23 is a 1998 German drama
thriller film about a young hacker
Karl Koch
, who died on 23 May 1989, a presumed suicide. It was directed by Hans-Christian Schmid
, who also participated in screenwriting. The title derives from the protagonist's obsession with the number 23
, a phenomenon often described as apophenia
. Although the film was well received by critics and audiences, its accuracy has been vocally disputed by some witnesses to the real-life events on which it was based. Schmid subsequently co-authored a book that tells the story of the making of 23 and also details the differences between the movie and the actual events.
, 19-year-old Karl Koch
(August Diehl
) finds the world around him threatening and chaotic. Inspired by the fictitious character Hagbard Celine
(from Robert Anton Wilson
and Robert Shea
's Illuminatus! Trilogy), he starts investigating the backgrounds of political and economic power and discovers signs that make him believe in a worldwide conspiracy
.
At a meeting with hackers
, Karl gets to know the student David (Fabian Busch). David and Karl are able to hack into the global data network
—which is still, at this point, in its early stages—and their belief in social justice propels them into espionage for the KGB
. Driven by contacts with a drug dealer—and by increasing KGB pressure to hack successfully into foreign systems—Karl spirals into a cocaine
dependency and grows increasingly alienated from David.
In a drug-addled state, Karl begins to sit in front of his computer for days at a time. Perpetually sleepless, he also grows increasingly delusional. When David publicly reveals the espionage activity in which the two men have been engaged, Karl is left alone to face the consequences. Collapse soon follows. Karl is taken to a hospital to deal with his drug addiction and mysteriously dies afterward.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
thriller film about a young hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
Karl Koch
Hagbard (Karl Koch)
Karl Werner Lothar Koch was a German hacker in the 1980s, who called himself "hagbard", after Hagbard Celine. He was involved in a Cold War computer espionage incident.-Biography:...
, who died on 23 May 1989, a presumed suicide. It was directed by Hans-Christian Schmid
Hans-Christian Schmid
Hans-Christian Schmid is a German film director and screenwriter.-Life and work:Hans-Christian Schmid has collaborated with Michael Gutmann on several of his the film that he has directed. Gutmann wrote screenplays for 23 - Nichts ist so wie es scheint , and Crazy...
, who also participated in screenwriting. The title derives from the protagonist's obsession with the number 23
23 (numerology)
The 23 enigma refers to the belief that most incidents and events are directly connected to the number 23, some modification of the number 23, or a number related to the number 23.-Origins:...
, a phenomenon often described as apophenia
Apophenia
Apophenia is the experience of seeing meaningful patterns or connections in random or meaningless data.The term was coined in 1958 by Klaus Conrad, who defined it as the "unmotivated seeing of connections" accompanied by a "specific experience of an abnormal meaningfulness", but it has come to...
. Although the film was well received by critics and audiences, its accuracy has been vocally disputed by some witnesses to the real-life events on which it was based. Schmid subsequently co-authored a book that tells the story of the making of 23 and also details the differences between the movie and the actual events.
Plot
In 1980s Germany at the height of the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, 19-year-old Karl Koch
Hagbard (Karl Koch)
Karl Werner Lothar Koch was a German hacker in the 1980s, who called himself "hagbard", after Hagbard Celine. He was involved in a Cold War computer espionage incident.-Biography:...
(August Diehl
August Diehl
August Diehl is a German actor, known for playing SS-Sturmbannführer Dieter Hellstrom in Inglourious Basterds and Michael "Mike" Krause, Evelyn Salt's husband, in the movie Salt.-Life and career:...
) finds the world around him threatening and chaotic. Inspired by the fictitious character Hagbard Celine
Hagbard Celine
Freeman Hagbard Celine, H.M., S.H. is a central protagonist in the Illuminatus trilogy of books by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, named after the legendary Viking hero Hagbard who died for love. In the Schrödinger's Cat trilogy, the sequel to Illuminatus!, it is stated that 'Hagbard Celine'...
(from Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...
and Robert Shea
Robert Shea
Robert Joseph Shea was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy Illuminatus!. It became a cult success and was later turned into a marathon-length stage show put on at the British National Theatre and elsewhere. In...
's Illuminatus! Trilogy), he starts investigating the backgrounds of political and economic power and discovers signs that make him believe in a worldwide conspiracy
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
.
At a meeting with hackers
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
, Karl gets to know the student David (Fabian Busch). David and Karl are able to hack into the global data network
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
—which is still, at this point, in its early stages—and their belief in social justice propels them into espionage for the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. Driven by contacts with a drug dealer—and by increasing KGB pressure to hack successfully into foreign systems—Karl spirals into a cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
dependency and grows increasingly alienated from David.
In a drug-addled state, Karl begins to sit in front of his computer for days at a time. Perpetually sleepless, he also grows increasingly delusional. When David publicly reveals the espionage activity in which the two men have been engaged, Karl is left alone to face the consequences. Collapse soon follows. Karl is taken to a hospital to deal with his drug addiction and mysteriously dies afterward.
Cast
- August DiehlAugust DiehlAugust Diehl is a German actor, known for playing SS-Sturmbannführer Dieter Hellstrom in Inglourious Basterds and Michael "Mike" Krause, Evelyn Salt's husband, in the movie Salt.-Life and career:...
as Karl KochHagbard (Karl Koch)Karl Werner Lothar Koch was a German hacker in the 1980s, who called himself "hagbard", after Hagbard Celine. He was involved in a Cold War computer espionage incident.-Biography:... - Fabian Busch as David
- Dieter Landuris as Pepe
- Jan Gregor Kremp as Lupo
- Stephan Kampwirth as Jochen Maiwald
- Zbigniew ZamachowskiZbigniew ZamachowskiZbigniew Zamachowski is a Polish actor.Zamachowski graduated the actor's faculty in "PWSFTViT" in Łódź. He began his acting career in 1981 and in 1989 had a co-starring role in Part Ten of director Krzysztof Kieślowski's film series, The Decalogue...
as Sergej - Peter Fitz as Brückner
- Burghart KlaussnerBurghart KlaußnerBurghart Klaußner is a German film actor. He has appeared in 50 films since 1983.-Selected filmography:* The Riddle of the Sands * Just a Matter of Duty * Good Bye Lenin! * The Edukators...
as Weber - Lilly Tschörtner as Beate
- Patrick Joswig as Alex
- Arnulf Schumacher as Seybert
See also
- 23 Enigma
- The Number 23The Number 23The Number 23 is a 2007 American psychological thriller film written by Fernley Phillips and directed by Joel Schumacher. The film starred Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, Danny Huston, and Logan Lerman. It was subsequently released on DVD on July 24, 2007 , and premiered on HBO on Saturday April 19,...
- The Cuckoo's EggThe Cuckoo's Egg (book)The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage is a 1989 book written by Clifford Stoll. It is his first-person account of the hunt for a computer cracker who broke into a computer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory .-Summary:Clifford Stoll managed some...
– another account of the Hanover Hacker case, written by one of the system administrators who discovered the break-ins