"Who Am I: No System Is Safe" is the sophomore feature from up and coming German director Baran bo Odar - who gained recognition after his first feature film- "The Silence"- led critics to name him as a "Director to Watch Out For" in 2011.
WHOAMI is the digital alias of a young but talented hacker named Benjamin Engel. Ben is a nobody in real life- just another freak who goes unnoticed by the world. However, as soon as he logs in online, he fancies himself a sort of superhero.
After teaching himself to code at the age of 14, Ben began to wander into the "Darknet"...where all the "Big Players" of the hacking realm were known to dwell. Here he found himself becoming especially influenced by a fellow hacker named MRX.
MRX had developed a 3-fold manifesto, which was embraced by the hacking world:
1) No System Is Safe. 2) Aim for the Impossible. 3) Enjoy the meat world as much as the net world.
He was the "somebody" Ben was striving to become.
Everything changes for Ben after a happenstance meeting with an outgoing "script kiddie" named Max- who is better at hacking people than he is the internet. The two had met during community service- which Ben was serving for hacking into a University server from which he was trying to steal exam questions for his childhood obsession, Marie. The two young men quickly realize they have similar ambitions and become friends with one another.
Max introduces Ben to Stephan- a software wiz- and Paul- a master of hardware. Ben's specialty is machine code...and together the four consider themselves a force to be reckoned with. They inevitably team up to create CLAY (Clowns Laughing At You)- an activist oriented hacker collective that quickly become renown for pulling off stunts akin to Yippies and the Yes Men- in an attempt to gain global recognition and prove that they too can be one of the "Big Players".
Their drive shifts, though, when a hacker named Krypton is found murdered. Word on the Darknet is that FR1ENDS- one of the "Big Players" who are known to be a group of hackers employed by the Russian Mafia- had killed Krypton because he was an informant for the feds.
The CLAY crew are incredibly disturbed by these revelations, while still trying to win the admonition of their hacking idol- MRX. This encourages them to focus on two actions: to discover the identity of MRX and actively work to stop FR1ENDS. Little do they know, this will all culminate into one massive hack that is more "social engineering", than it is limited to computer hacking.
Will Ben and CLAY be able to play all sides against each other, achieve their goals, and escape scot-free? That's the plan. But a double twist at the end will keep you guessing.
Story-wise "Who Am I" has a tone similar to that of other anarchy oriented films from Germany, like "What To Do In Case of Fire" or Hans Weingartner's "Free Rainer" and "The Edukators"; plot-wise it is reminiscent of 90's crime gem "Fresh"; while, stylistically one can detect the influence of Jeunet and Caro films, like "Amelie". Be sure to keep an eye out for the Fight Club mise-en-scene foreshadowing ruse too.
With great style, a lot of subtle details (you may miss the first time around), and an intriguing soundtrack, Odar has managed to bring us a film that is mysterious, exciting, and thought provoking. It will certainly command your attention from start to finish. Hackers and other revolutionary-minded individuals will particularly enjoy it. Recommended.
7.5 out of 10.
