It never occurred to me that this film could be compared to classic gangster movies. To me, this film is about one thing and one thing only: true friendship. Chiko's friendship with a worthless piece of trash is more important to him than money, love, family and even his own life. IMHO, every other aspect of the film is there just to provide a setting for this one point. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but at least it's original.
Regarding the immigrant stereotypes: I missed the first 5-10 minutes of the film, so maybe there was something there, but for most of the film I didn't even know they weren't German.
Regarding the similarity to gangster films: The description of the 'good life' takes only 1-2 minutes and is necessary, so that we see what Chiko is giving up. All the other incidents are there simply to show us just how big a screw-up his friend is.
Maybe you didn't notice, but Chiko even forgave his friend for stabbing him. After the initial surprise, he wasn't mad at him, he felt sorry for him.
Regarding the immigrant stereotypes: I missed the first 5-10 minutes of the film, so maybe there was something there, but for most of the film I didn't even know they weren't German.
Regarding the similarity to gangster films: The description of the 'good life' takes only 1-2 minutes and is necessary, so that we see what Chiko is giving up. All the other incidents are there simply to show us just how big a screw-up his friend is.
Maybe you didn't notice, but Chiko even forgave his friend for stabbing him. After the initial surprise, he wasn't mad at him, he felt sorry for him.