Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- paranoid
- tense
- brooding
- late night thriller viewing
- cold war history night
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Karl and David's computer intrusions begin as ideological curiosity but become entangled with espionage, secret services, and competing interpretations of reality.
Karl's Illuminatus-inspired conspiracy theories and growing delusions make it difficult to distinguish political discovery from psychological projection.
The hackers operate across West Germany, East Berlin, the KGB, and military computer systems during the late Cold War.
Dial-up bulletin boards, home computing, government systems, and hacker spaces create a pre-internet technological world charged with menace.
Films like 23, and why
The Lives of Others
shared paranoid espionage atmosphere, morally compromised protagonists, and conspiracy-driven thriller structure
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
shared cold war surveillance, political intrigue, and tense investigation of hidden state power
Hackers
shared hacker culture, paranoia, drug use, and psychologically unstable conspiracy thriller tone
The Baader Meinhof Complex
shared true-crime grounding, radicalized youth, and politically charged german thriller drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Hans-Christian Schmid
- Release Date
- 1998-07-02
- Runtime
- 99 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (229)
Cast
- August Diehl
- Fabian Busch
- Dieter Landuris
- Jan-Gregor Kremp
- Burghart Klaußner
- Stephan Kampwirth
- Zbigniew Zamachowski
- Peter Fitz
- Lilly Marie Tschörtner
- Arnulf Schumacher
Common questions
- What is 23 about?
- A gifted young hacker's conspiracy-fueled break-ins draw him and his friends into a dangerous web of espionage, drugs, and collapsing reality.
- What is 23 like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of 23 as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is 23 violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in 23 as mild.
- Which films are like 23?
- Films with a similar feel include The Lives of Others, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Hackers, and The Baader Meinhof Complex.
- How long is 23?
- 23 runs 99 minutes.
