Volt

In a not-too-distant future, transit zones have been set up all over Germany, where many thousands of refugees are waiting to be naturalized in their new homeland or sent back to their countries of origin. A lawless, tense atmosphere prevails in the camps. Again and again there are brutal police operations, which are supposed to bring some peace. During one of these operations, police officer Volt (Benno Fürmann) kills the refugee Hesham (Tony Harrisson). The act goes seemingly unobserved. Nevertheless, Volt is increasingly haunted by his feelings of guilt. These drive him back to the camp again and again, where the death of Hesham threatens to escalate the already tense atmosphere. When Volt meets LaBlanche (Ayo), Hesham's sister, and an affair develops between them, he is increasingly drawn into a dangerous vortex of lies and guilt. And soon the situation spirals completely out of control.

Volt is well-intentioned and ambitious. There's no question about that. In gritty images, backed by a pounding industrial soundtrack, director Tarek Ehlail paints a depressing, uncomfortable picture of what Germany might look like in a few years. Unfortunately, the good ambitions get lost in flat stereotypes and a script that somehow feels unfinished. It's almost annoying that the members of the task force, which includes Volt, seem to consist only of boozing and racist thugs. There is also a lack of nuance in the picture Ehlail paints of the refugee camps.

The story in itself requires very complex character development, which the film simply cannot deliver in a mere 80 minutes. As a result, the whole thing remains too superficial, emotionally undercooked and trying too hard to be truly captivating. The message that Ehlail might want to convey is also almost entirely lost this way. Sure, in some ways the film makes you think. But first and foremost, one wonders what the whole thing would have looked like if the script had drawn a little less one-dimensional characters and fleshed out the story a little better. There's so much potential here that remains almost entirely untapped.

Volt is visually interesting and the sound also provides a not ineffective atmosphere. Still, the story just doesn't manage to develop the emotional punch it would actually need to work. Therefore, with the best will in the world, there is only a very hesitant: Still worth seeing with some reservations!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp