Film / System Crasher

• Abusive Parent:
  • It's mentioned that Benni was abused when she was younger, evidently by one of her mother's past boyfriends, who used to smear Benni's face with diapers, which left her with being touched in the face as a Trauma Button.
  • Benni also hates her mother's most recent boyfriend, who is also a jerkass to some extent as he doesn't bother trying to calm her down when she gets mad at his presence and instead tells her to get out of the way of the TV while telling her not to disrespect her mother, then locks her in a closet when she lashes out at then.
• Adults Are Useless: The staff at Benni's first institution mutter that they wish they could lock up kids in adult prison/asylums while Benni is out of earshot.
• Bullying a Dragon: Some of the kids like picking on Benni, despite knowing that she has a Hair-Trigger Temper. As a result, they usually get beat up... or are let off with a slap on the wrist.
• Child Hater: The old man with the cows. He hates that Micha is spending his tax dollars to bring troublemakers to his farm and that it would they'd be better off being thrown in the "loony house" in the first place.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Micha admits to Mrs. Befané after his "vacation" with Benni (and letting her stay at his home for one night) that he does these because he has rescue fantasies, and realizing this, he wants to distance himself away from Benni. Mrs. Befané tells him that he's still needed.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Mrs. Befané mentions that Benni was frequently shoved soiled diapers in her face, evidently by one of her mother's boyfriends.
• Downer Ending: No matter what they do, Benni continues to suffer from her disorder and doesn't seem to have gotten better. Not only that, but her hopes of returning to her mother are crushed and she ruins her relationship with Micha, topped off with Child Services deciding to fly her off to an institution outside of the country. At the airport, she runs off to an elevated platform and the movie stops just as she jumps. We're not shown what's at the end of the platform, so she may have leapt to her death.
• Every Scar Has a Story: Benni notices that Micha has scars on his head.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Benni, as a result of her disorder. She can be gentle, but if she doesn't get what she wants, she gets agitated.
• Hollywood Psych: It's not explicitly stated what Benni's disorder is, but a flashback shows her doctor suggesting they give her a medicine that's usually given to older people with schizophrenia.
• I Want My Mommy!: Benni just wants to be with her mama again.
• Kids Are Cruel: Almost every kid in the movie picks on Benni (it goes about as well as you'd expect) or encourages her behavior because they find it entertaining to see her humiliate herself.
• No Ending: If not an explicit Downer Ending. Benni is to be sent to a mental institution outside of Germany, but she runs away while checking in at the airport and runs outside on an elevated maintenance platform. The final shot is of her jumping — possibly to her death.
• Parents as People: Ms. Klaas has gone through multiple boyfriends, including at least one abusive boyfriend, is unemployed, and she goes back on her promise to get employed and taking back Benni because she's scared of her and that she may be a bad influence on Leo. After confessing this to Ms. Befané, she leaves the meeting without saying goodbye to Benni and asks Ms. Befané to explain it for her, unable to chalk up the courage to do it herself.
• Parental Substitute: Benni comes to see Micha as her "papa" and asks him to adopt her. When Micha says that he can't, Benni casually says that she can kill his wife and kids to make it work. Naturally, Micha doesn't take it well.
• Self-Harm: Benni does this sometimes when she doesn't get her way. While begging Micha not to take her back to the institution after their "vacation", she starts bloodily bashing her forehead against the car window when he refuses. She also starts biting her own hand when her mother goes back on her promise to take her back.
• Trauma Button: Benni won't let anyone besides herself and her mother touch her face. This is a trauma from one of her mother's past boyfriends, who smeared soiled diapers in her face.
• Troubling Un Childlike Behavior: Because of her disorder as well as her background of abuse, Benni is selfish and can be very violent at the drop of a pin. She cusses and threatens people for not letting her do what she wants.
• Turn Out Like His Father: A variation. Me. Klaas confesses to Mrs. Befané that she doesn't want Benni home so soon because she's scared that she'll rub off on Leo, who is starting to suffer from the same disorder as her.
• Would Hurt a Child: Benni. She gets into fights with other kids, bashes her foster brother's head against the floor at the ice rink, and was at a huge risk of doing this to Aaron.
• Yandere: Benni. While staying at Micha's house for the first time, she says that she wants Micha to be her "papa" and that she would kill his wife and kid if she thinks that's the reason why he refuses. Later, at her second time there, she takes their baby from his crib before they wake up so that she can play with him and believes that he wants to stay with her instead of Elli, resulting in her getting agitated and violent towards her and Micha when they try to take Aaron back.