The production values are incredible. I recommend this to anyone interested in an authentic drama based on the Rote Armee Fraktion. Impressive film-making, but deeply flawed. JoeytheBrit 4 July There's something rather sterile about this otherwise admirable dramatised documentary recounting the extraordinary exploits of the Red Army Faction in West Germany back in the 70s which, despite the graphic violence and frequent nudity, gives it the feel of a faithful but uninspired history lesson.
The characters' single-minded conversations too often resemble lectures during which they shout their points to one another in sentences laden with revolutionary-speak words like imperialism, capitalism, fascism, etc.
Another problem I had with the film was that the writer Uli Edel's treatment trod a determinedly neutral path, which means, paradoxically, that we're given the no doubt mistaken impression that the writer-director is sympathetic to the revolutionaries cause. This objective retelling also leaves the film with no moral anchor, and no sympathy on the part of the viewer for any of the characters. Despite its near two-and-a-half-hour running time, the film feels rushed in the last half-an-hour with the hijacking of a Lufthansa plane and the subsequent deaths of the Red Army Faction's leaders given very little screen time.
Sylviastel 27 February I easily believe that this film was the most expensive to make judging by the extravagant explosions and violent scenes. The acting, writing, and directing was all worth it.
It all starts innocently with the American country song during Ulrike Meinhorf's vacation with her daughters and husband on a beach somewhere. Is it Germany? I don't remember but I was troubled by the girls who played her daughters who were exposed up front. The film begins with Ulrike's involvement as a left wing journalist and slowly escalates.
We realize that her marriage was falling apart. She leaves her husband and takes their daughters. She gets involved with the RAF at first by writing for them but it escalates further. Ulrike's life takes a disturbing turn in order for her to make a better world. The RAF means well but their actions are too violent, illogical, and wrongfully aimed at eve innocent people. This film is well worth watching even if you don't know German.
I don't know it myself but it's a powerful tour De force and gripping film to watch at least once in order to understand human history. The actors do a fantastic job in their performances especially the leads and the director did a fantastic job in displaying the history as well.
You can't believe it actually happened but it did. Although the events portrayed in The Baader Meinhof Complex dates back to the 60s and 70s, this look back at West Germany's struggle with political extremism and armed resistance holds some relevance in today's terror threats, given that it's never always just about tackling the issue as an independent silo, but there's this inter-connectedness with events around the world that shape rationale, objectives and outcome.
Director Uli Edel has crafted an engaging political action-thriller if you might, from Stefan Aust's book about the founders of the Red Faction Army RAF , one of Germany's violent left- wing anti-capitalist group, whose logo is a combination of a Red Star and an MP5 sub- machine gun. It captured quite succinctly the coming together of the group in their armed push to get their ideologies through to an audience. It doesn't set to glamorize the group, but puts forth the events as they happened, from founding right up until the demise of the first generation leaders, in a trial recorded as Germany's most expensive to date, and the controversial end to it.
The terrorist techniques then don't really differ from those of today, such as bombings, kidnappings, hijackings and assassinations. Terrorist camps become training ground for members to get equipped with guerrilla warfare, and hats off to Uli Edel and his team in accurately reconstructing the major events as accurately as possible, and how they allowed for the smooth juxtaposition of archived newsreels, which at times made the movie play out almost like watching a documentary with ring-side seats to the series of world events, from US political elections to the Vietnam War, and even to the massacre at the Olympic Games in Munich.
And everyone knows that innocent civilians, once they become unnecessary collateral, tend to chip at the legitimacy of the methods employed, thus being the catalyst to a slide in support. If anyone needs a to terrorist techniques, then the RAF's host of methods employed as seen in the film, allows for that glimpse.
Like what is commonly said these days about one faction being overly zealous in pushing their ideologies across the table, only to encounter an equal force opposing in the other direction, the armed resistance here seemed to have pushed for the justification of a police- like state in order to counter their threats and to keep them under control. But what I found more intriguing, is how support for their activities come from a much wider geography, a network of like-minded individuals or groups who form that kind of help and support for training and logistics, which still holds true in today's context.
Also, for any grouping without its charismatic leader clearly in control, it'll still manage to thrive under the next generation of leaders, but focus on the objectives would probably be skewed or diluted, with much deviation from what was originally intended. And there are always eager beavers who would not think twice at solely using violence to achieve their goals. Art direction was top notch in recreating the feel of yesteryear, and the cast does a great job in their convincing portrayals of historical figures.
Despite its runtime of close to minutes, it never for a moment felt dreary to an audience unfamiliar with the politics or significant world events of the time, partly also because of the kind of relevance it holds today, and under Uli Edel's astute direction in keeping a quick pace. If there should be shortcomings, then perhaps it didn't exactly put forth the appeal of the group of anarchists, because at one point it mentioned support coming from one in four Germans, but doesn't go beyond the Us or Them syndrome, or provided some depth into the court proceedings, which in the film looked more like a circus than to serve any purpose.
Germany's entry into the Foreign Language Film category in this year's Oscars, The Baader Meinhof Complex is thoroughly riveting and engaging, and should be in your list of much watch films of the week, instead of opting for the week's summer blockbuster offering.
The German cinema has lately made remarkable efforts to deal with various aspects of the complex recent history of the country. The heroes are the members of the Baader-Meinhof gang, and the film takes upon the ambitious task of retracing the history of the formation, training, actions, capture and end of the gang, and of describing its heroes and find the deeper reasons of their actions. The result is mixed. It is a long film, and one of its qualities is to bring to the screen in a credible manner the Germany of the 60s and 70s.
It starts however a little bit too late, and we never really understand why the heroes and part of the young generation of the time picked such a mix of causes, found allies in and adopted the methods of the terror organizations. If we are to believe for example the character of Andreas Baader as brought to screen by Moritz Bleibtreu it was more terribleness and the naughty inclination of playing with guns.
Neither is the evolution of the complex character of Ulrike Meinhof from being a left-wing but yet middle class journalist to becoming the ideologue of the movement completely explained, although the acting of Martina Gedeck makes of her role the one to be remembered in the film.
The rest of the characters are either too schematic, or too many alike or they spend too little time on the screen to really help us understand what they are about. The young anarchist who terrorized Germany for more than one decade and shook the foundation of democracy in West Germany look not much more than occasional killers bored by a spoiled life. Such were they indeed? Director Uli Edel best known from many TV productions had not an easy task, as the controversy still lingers, although today's Germany is so different from many points of view from the one described in the film.
Neither the establishment described in a much more stereotypical mode nor the members of the anarchist gang seem to get an approval rate from the director.
While the documentary part of the film is well made, the characters are much more blurred. It is like looking at a photo with the background of the snapshot of the German society taken by Edel being more clear than its subjects in the foreground.
This is a fact-based retelling of the exploits of the Red Army Fraction, a German terrorist group that was quite active during the late s and the s. It is non-stop action, which is not a good thing. Instead of a plot that builds, this one is little more than a rehash of what seems like every terrorist activity, small or large, ever undertaken by the group. The net effect is that it's mind-numbingly tedious, particularly at a running time that feels like three hours.
Although told from the point of view of the terrorists, their motivation is never clear. There are also too many characters, none of them likable or interesting. The-Sarkologist 24 October This film is about an organisation that arose in Germany at the beginning of the 70s named the Red Army Faction. This was an ultra-left wing terrorist origanisation, though ironically there didn't seem to be much connection between them and the Soviets, if the movie is anything to go by.
In fact, they seemed to be more connected with Palestinian terrorists than the communists, even though they were ultra-left wing. The title comes from two of the main members of the faction, Ulrike Meinhof, a journalist, and Andreas Baader, a student who begins the movement. The movie really shows how this organisation evolves, and even though half of the movie has them in prison, it is clear that even though they are imprisoned, they are still able to run the organisation, even though their actions really don't seem to be getting anywhere.
It is interesting how they refer to the government as being Neo-fascist, which is no doubt calling back the memories of the Nazi Party, something that generally strikes at the hearts of the Germans. They know how that turned out, and by suggesting that the current government is heading this way is a means of attempting to get the population on side.
In a way it works, even though many of the members, and the supporters, are students. Another interesting thing is how a lot of these movements seem to arise out of the universities. I guess in a way students tend to be very idealistic, and really look for ways to change the world.
I remember that this was the case when I was in University - students are always protesting about something or another. I also noticed that many of the more radical political parties tend to be made up of the young, and students, as opposed to the people that they are trying to help that being the working class. I first saw this film ages ago, and it was sort of one of those films that I started watching after doing a bit of channel surfing. The other thing that grabbed me is all of the bank robberies that they commited at the beginning of the film.
One generally doesn't consider robbing banks as a means of funding terrorist operations, but it certainly seemed that this was the case here. Yeah, it is pretty good, but it is also pretty clear that they are terrorists.
I guess that is the other problem with the young, and that is that many of them really only see that violence is the way to solve things. Then again, one of the things that they were protesting was the Vietnam War, and in a sense they were responding against violence with violence. Mind you, there was a similar organisations in the United States, the Weather Underground being one of them.
However, the Red Army Faction was operating until the late 80s, no doubt the collapse of communism precipitating its end. These days, well, protests movements do tend to be much more peaceful, though I guess that might have something to do with extra powers given to the authorities to deal with terrorist organisations, and it is true that in a sense these organisations are terrorist in nature in that they seek to promote their ends, and reach their goals, through the use of violence.
While they claim that they are only responding to violence with violence, the reality is that unfortunately, this tactic rarely, if ever, works. All of these are more than competent, but none not quite enough to bring home the Palme d'Or, the Oscar or the Golden Globe. In a very early scene in BMC, which is about the German Red Army Faction RAF from to , you are privy to an unflinching look at the violence of the establishment which makes you think, for a moment, that it roots for the course of the radical students and intellectuals.
But the further you get into the movie, the more convinced you are that the movie makers do not have it anywhere in their agenda, not even as an afterthought, any intention of justifying the course of ANYBODY. Vengeance heaping upon vengeance, violence provoking more violence, it erodes you sympathy relentlessly until you don't really give a you-fill-in-the-blank. The movie revolves around the story of the three main characters.
Indeed, whatever the brilliant ideal it has, the organization which always proposes a violent revolution and kidnap will make people stand the opposite side consciously. At the same era, Che Guevara applied massacre which was in the name of communism in Cambodia. We can say these events are the special productions for the particular periods.
Based on the reality that many revolutionaries are always idealists, we cannot deny idealism promotes the development of society to some extent in some aspects 1.
The RAF appeared in a special period. With the prevailing of capitalism, the life of normal citizens could not be guaranteed. People needed to revolt to fight for their life. They may think that win the combat will make them get good life.
Because of the immature of minds, youth people are much more easily to accept this kind of idealism. However, there is no perfect life.
And the more, there is no perfect society. But to reflect the perfect society issue in the real world, people may find culture hegemony can be one reason for its negative. The audience may shake their heads in disbelief at the court shenanigans, but the result is still comedy.
Not so the Stammheim trial, where Baader, Ennslin, Meinhof and two other defendants confront their enemy with the same anarchic fury laced with ideological rationale they used to fight them on the outside. The enemy, after all, grew up under Hitler, and many of them were perhaps stained by the Nazi convictions of their own youth.
The thought makes one see The Baader-Meinhof Complex as more than just a movie about a fucked-up terrorist group. The Baader-Meinhof gang could be seen as the growing pains, and a particularly rebellious adolescence, of a new Germany. My attention was fully engaged throughout the film. I thought the screenplay brilliantly portrayed the way the mindset of the RAF developed as they became more and more convinced they were living in a police state.
Acting and direction were superb throughout. In spite of the violence and repression being depicted, I was reassured by the fact that such thought provoking films can and are being made for today's cinema audiences.
After seeing Die Welle I think it was three times earlier this year I am now very enthusiastic about German cinema and shall certainly be hoping to see Der Baader Meinhof Komplex at least once more on the big screen this year.
A masterpiece of political film making. Highly recommended. FAQ 2. What is the scene at the beginning with the man being shot? How does it fit into the movie? Details Edit. Release date September 25, Germany. Germany France Czech Republic. Metropolitan Films France Official site Germany. German English French Swedish Arabic. Der Baader Meinhof Komplex.
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