A perfect combination of several genres we love in documentaries, “Shiny_Flakes: The Teenage Drug Lord,” blends elements of True Crime, DIY, and the rise and fall of a businessman who got too cocky – all into one 90 minute feature.

This film stars the actual guy, Maximilian Schmidt, a German kid who ran a huge illicit drug operation from his bedroom in his parents’ house. It’s a story so riveting that it became a Netflix fictionalized series called  How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast).

We know from the start that it didn’t end so well for Max, as some of the interviews show prison bars behind him. We also know he didn’t stay there forever because the filmmakers here have built an exact replica of the room where he moved millions of dollars worth of drugs. As Max sits at the replica desk and looks at the computer screens, he is taken aback by how much it feels like he’s just stepped back in time.

And so, working backwards, we learn how this smart (and smartass) kid, barely 20 years old, started an online business the old fashion way: he looked up stuff on Google, he studied other websites, and most shockingly – he essentially had the website out in the open. Hidden in plain sight- And used the local post office, actual government postal service, to ship his merchandise!

Speaking in the first person in German (I watched a version dubbed in English) he talks about a lot of things with complete candor, even a knowing smirk. And yet, he can keep a secret. For example, he is fairly tight-lipped about his home life. Why? Is he protecting complicit parents or is he ashamed that they didn’t check on him. His mother hadn’t entered his room in more than a year.

But lest he get too cute, we also hear from law enforcement and a psychologist who, after all, did capture him in the end.

There are a number of surprises, which I’ll leave for you to discover, but this was a very slick production, populated with memorable characters. The biggest question comes near the end, and you really do wonder: what happened to all the money?

“Shiny_Flakes: The Teenage Drug Lord,” is currently streaming on Netflix. In German with subtitles, or choose language for dubbed.