Verlierer (1987)

Richie is the leader of the “Ghetto Sharks.” He has already been to prison, and he and his crew are directionless, mostly unemployed young men. In the bleakness of the gray, dirty Ruhr region of the 1980s, the hooligans spend their time drinking, hanging around, or vandalizing things. Since they are always short of money, they get it by begging and also through criminal activities. The “Sharks” are also rivals of the “Rats,” a predominantly Turkish gang led by Hasan. They wear blue denim jackets decorated with patches of heavy metal bands such as Anvil, Warlock, Mercyful Fate, and Ozzy Osbourne. The film begins with a meeting between the two gangs. With a city map spread out between them, the leaders mark off their territories and agree to a truce. The members of Richie’s gang are divided; some hope the truce will soon end anyway. Richie’s younger brother Jürgen, nicknamed Mücke, still lives with their parents. After his drunken father brutally beats him yet again, he runs away from home. On the street, he meets Erdal, a young Turkish man who is being chased by a xenophobic gang. The two flee together and manage to get away. Later, Mücke eventually reaches the abandoned factory building that the “Sharks” use as their hangout. He asks his older brother Richie if he can join the “Sharks.” Richie turns him down. Having already been to prison, he wants to keep his little brother Jürgen from suffering the same social decline he did. Instead, he insists that Jürgen pursue a respectable life and get solid vocational training. By now Mücke has become friends with Erdal, and Erdal’s parents give him a meal at their snack bar. At an arcade, Mücke learns almost in passing that Erdal is a member of the “Rats,” so, disappointed, Mücke ends their friendship. Meanwhile, the conflict between the “Rats” and the “Sharks” begins to escalate after the “Rats” set fire to their rivals’ hangout. The “Sharks’” leadership group now heads to the “Rats’” hangout. Richie’s men throw onto a pile some of the “Rats’” jackets they seized in a fight and douse them with gasoline. Richie lights them with a match and declares war on Hasan, after which the rivals agree to a decisive battle. All the members of both gangs turn up, heavily armed with chains and iron bars, and a mass brawl breaks out. In the end, Hasan stabs Richie, then flees. Mücke finds his dead brother, takes off his jacket, and puts it on himself. Shortly afterward, a large contingent of police arrives at the scene.