Fresh is a film about the struggle for survival of black youths in the urban USA, which is not concerned with following the trend of all the other films of this genre in recent years, which try to get in as many big guns, pools of blood or rap stars, or just rap, as possible. Fresh works on a different level, with its ever unexpected outbreaks of rawness, in a way that overdone special effects or music would only detract from the whole. Fresh is 12 and lives with dozens of other kids in one flat and works for two drugs dealers at the same time, while his older sister plays for one of the dealers the mistress – involuntarily. Confronted with violence and rivalry, puberty for the twelve year olds consistently ends in destruction. Until, that is, Fresh begins setting the dealers against each other, which he finds easy because of his age. While outbreaks of violence and conflict between and within the different gangs are inevitable, director Boaz Yakin still manages to surprise the audience with sudden violence in seemingly harmless scenes. The violence is portrayed at first vaguely and in bits, then – at times some moments later – the camera almost silently picks its way through the scene before revealing the consequences.

ki, Berlin