Nighttime Berlin with its little terrors is the setting for Schlichter's Ex, a rush of a drama about Gen-Xers, German style. A small gang of aging youths spend their days boosting cars and fueling their nostrils, until one is killed fleeing the police. Then life on the edge begins tottering dangerously: Mario, their frenzied leader, falls in with Russian mobsters while Klaus, Sarah, and Robert wallow in desperation. Schlichter's first feature follows the drug-induced momentum of rootless young Berliners to its tragic end. There are attempts at romance and reclamation, but the gravity of despair is too great. When Robert, new to the clique, asks Mario what he plans for the future, he tersely replies: "To stay awake." Dreams are to be avoided in this nightmare of fatalistic impulses. Winner of Best German Film at the Munich Film Festival.