Tough Enough (Knallhart) is a German coming-of-age picture that is fairly conventional: 15-year-old kid, bullied at school, is desperate to escape the brutalization, wants to stand up for himself, does so, but doesn't like what he's become.

It's the same kind of story arc that's probably been done time and again. But what makes Tough Enough so engaging are the characters, and they way they play off each other.

David Kloss stars as Michael, a gawky 15-year-old kid. He's Napolean Dynamite with an attitude: he's mad as hell and isn't going to take it anymore. Michael is the son of an attractive, blond, 30-year-old mum. Michael and his mother, Miriam, have gotten used to the good life, living in a wealthy suburb of Berlin, where Mirian is the trophy sex-toy girlfriend of a doctor. She's put on a pound or two, and no longer pleases the doctor sexually, so out they go.

They end up in a tough neighborhood of Berlin, where as the new kid in school, Michael ends up being beaten and extorted by a gang of toughs led by Erol. But Michael makes friends, too, with the brothers Crille and Matze, and their father is away, driving a truck in Kazahkstan. The boys spend their days drinking beer, puking and drinking more beer. To get money to pay off Erol, Michael and his two latchkey delinquent friends go back out to the suburbs and break in to the doctor's house.

Michael pays Erol some money, but it's not enough. But, in trying to fence some of the loot from the robbery, the baby-faced Michael comes to the attention of Hamal, the charismatic leader of the neighborhood Muslim mafia. Soon, there is no more problem with Erol, who has problems of his own, anyway.

There are some conveniences in Michael's life that just seem too pat - his ability to make friends quickly with Crille and Michael, his coming home angry and finding a man in his and his mother's apartment, and that man is able to show Michael how to throw a punch, and then Hamal's coming to Michael's rescue.

But it's the strong performances that make this tale engaging. I was especially taken with the way Miriam transforms, from being just a blonde to being a young mother who demands and earns the respect of her son, and even starts to gain some self-respect.

Also enjoyable was the comic relief of Crille and his brother, Matze. At first, it seems like Crille is the one with brains, but it later becomes apparent that it's Matze who has a good head on his shoulders.

The music helped, too, with a score that consists of German metal and techno, as well as Beck.

Tough Enough screens at 1pm on October 30 as part of the World Film Festival's World Cinema program.