Do you know Xatar, star rapper in Germany? It is on the extraordinary biography of this artist that Fatih Akin leans in Rheingold, a fascinating film about a fate that is no less fascinating. After unveiling the true story of a serial killer in golden glove (2019), the director of‘In the Fadesigns a less brutal film that plays on several genres.
“I like when you can’t put a film in a specific box, and when the film ends, you find yourself completely elsewhere. I like when films challenge us,” explains the filmmaker. This definition applies perfectly to Rheingold which follows the life of Giwar Hajabi from his destiny as a delinquent to his future as a musician, passing through prison.
Xatar on set
Before becoming xatar, the Kurdish-Iranian immigrant hero embodied very convincingly by Emilio Sakraya, has done a lot of bad things, a criminal odyssey based on drug trafficking and hold-ups that the filmmaker shares through this extremely cinematic character . The real Xatar came to support the project inspired by his autobiographical bestseller, supervising the soundtrack and going so far as to come and shave the head of the actor who embodies him on the set.
Between polar, musical film and reflection on social determinism, Rheingold fascinates by the flamboyant side of a hero who is alternately fascinating, funny or downright disturbing. In Kurdish “Xatar” means “dangerous”. It is not for nothing that the rapper adopted this pseudonym, the reason for which the public understands in this thrilling work.