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	Less a commentary on German skinhead society than a conflicted youths drama without much hair, Oi! WARNING reps a highly accomplished, sometimes electrifying feature debut for cohelmers Dominik and Benjamin Reding (...). Stylistic bravado announces itself straight off, with a dream sequence in which protag Janosch (Sascha Backhaus) imagines his sinewy skin pal Koma (Simon Goerts) and latter's spouse, Sandra (Sandra Borgmann), making love in a forest ó and one suspects Janosch would prefer to take her place. Waking up, he abandons home and a fretting mother to join the couple, bunking in a bizarrely decorated nursery soon to be inhabited by expected twin infants.
	Sandra is not thrilled by this new arrangement; she's already had it up to here with the boys-club atmosphere of skinhead society, wherein sidelined girlfriends already look like the depressed hausfraus they'll soon become. But Janosch's stuporous admiration of Koma ó who defines himself by his ready-and-willingness to scrap ó is well received, with a sublimated mutual carnal frisson. Janosch promptly loses his locks, gets a brewery job alongside his idol and reluctantly enrolls in a local school. For her own reasons, Sandra "gives" him a girlfriend (Britta Dirks), one who's eager to domesticate Janosch as he is to explore opposing avenues. During a quarry-pond outing, Koma picks a nasty fight with a punk. This has far-reaching consequences, especially once Janosch discovers a parallel, less sexually constricted network of heavily pierced, tattooed "modern primitives". He gets physical with one (Jens Veith), a development that does not escape Komaís notice. Climactic violent confrontation is terse and startling.
	Often very funny as well as edgy, Oi! WARNING doesn't try to psychoanalyze its characters, instead creating a workable emotional logic through the sheer aggression, mercurial mood shifts and kinetic firepower (often quick-cutting between locations/actions) of its atmosphere. (...) Pic doesn't comment specifically on the racism, homophobia and Nazi-sympathizing often associated with skinhead scenes, nor does it reveal whether Koma and his mates share any of those dogmas. Their anarchic nihilism seems an engine in itself. Never less than striking to look at, the film has a hyper-real, fevered tone that at times recalls influences from Kenneth Anger to Fassbinder, but always finds the brothers Reding in bold control of their vision (...)
	The idyllic Lake Constance country side: The small, picturesque harbor towns inbetween fruit plantations. A house in the country with a view on the lake and mom in the garden. Paradise on earth. This is where Janosch lives; a 17-year-old serious lad, expected to graduate from school soon. But he hates his life at the lake. Therefore he is almost relieved to be kicked out of school. Reason enough to finally go his own way, part from mom, his girlfriend and his all too planned-out life. But where to go? Perhaps to Koma, and old school mate living in Dortmund. Koma packs boxes at a brewery, has an apartment, a pretty girlfriend and soon-to-arrive off-springs. And he is a clever skinhead, neither right-winged nor left-winged, just "100% pure skinhead".
	He is tall, strong, good at kickboxing,too. A hero - Janosch is fascinated. And Koma likes Janosch. Finally he has found someone to hang out with and who admires him. Koma longs to be admired. So Janosch moves in with Koma, works at the brewery like Koma, has a girlfriend like Koma and becomes a skinhead like Koma. From now on Janosch is admitted to Koma's "fortress", an old machine building located in a closed-down quarry. Here the skinhead brags with explosives because "you gotta be able to defend yourself". Despite Janosch or perhaps because of Janosch - Koma is still dicontented, most of the time with hisself, at times with his pregnat girlfriend, always with others, who ruin his life. Then he beats them up. And he is good at it. But sometimes he gets the wrong guy. For example, the young punk at the gravel pit. And Janosch helps his pal, kicks until the punk spits blood.
	As a reward he is allowed to get a tattoo just like Koma. At the tattoo parlor he notices Zottel. He is a totally different type,. Filthy, stoned, free spirited - but proud of it. He drives a motorcycle and Janosch is still stuck with his Lambretta, so they've got to chat about Koma's "fortress" in the quarry burns down. He's sure he knows who "did it" - those friends from the punk at the gravel pit. If he finds them, he'll "finish them off". And Janosch obediently vows revenge as well. At a rich classmate's birthday party Janosch bumps into Zottel again. Revealing him as a member of fire-eater group. "I wanna learn fire-eating", says Janosch, leaves his secure home behind and pays a visit to Zottel at the trailer camp.
	Koma knows who "did it", who burned down his "fortress". Wishful thinking and a little hint melt together, it was Zottel. It had to be him, Janosch slept with him and Koma has turned into a jealous and voluntary witness. "Now you can make good of your promise!" A rude awakening for Janosch. He hangs out at Komaís favourite bar, half-drunk. Koma gives him the answer. They drive to the trailer camp. He expects Janosch to break Zottelís face or in Komaís words "side walk bashing". Janosch can't do it. Too late: Koma starts kicking.But Janosch still has one choice.
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