I’d have been happy if this 2.5-hour film had been even longer than it is because, despite its immediacy and the skill with which the events are recreated, it only scratches the surface.
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:83
Fresh:72
Rotten:11
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Intricately researched and impressively authentic slice of modern German History, with a terrific cast, assured direction, and a cracking script.
Australian Theatrical Release:
May 7, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $296,294
Synopsis:
Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the still fragile German democracy. The radicalized...
Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the still fragile German democracy. The radicalized children of the Nazi generation led by Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) and Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek) are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism supported by the German establishment, many of whom have a Nazi past. Their aim is to create a more human society but by employing inhuman means they not only spread terror and bloodshed, they also lose their own humanity. The man who understands them is also their hunter: the head of the German police force Horst Herold (Bruno Ganz). And while he succeeds in his relentless pursuit of the young terrorists, he knows he’s only dealing with the tip of the iceberg.
Producer and scriptwriter Bernd Eichinger (PERFUME - STORY OF A MURDERER, DOWNFALL) brings Stefan Aust’s standard work on RAF terrorism, THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX to the big screen for Constantin Film. Director Uli Edel (LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN, ZOO) presents the dramatic events that shook the democratic foundations of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1967 to the “German Autumn” of 1977. --© Vitagraph
Starring: Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz
Starring: Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz, Nadja Uhl, Alexandra Maria Lara, Karoline Herfurth, Hannah Herzsprung
Director: Uli Edel
Director: Uli Edel
Screenwriter: Bernd Eichinger
Producer: Bernd Eichinger
Studio: Vitagraph Films
Reviews for The Baader Meinhof Complex
At its most arresting when it dwells in the ambiguity that clouds seemingly righteous action.
You want to know more and Eichinger's script isn't even going to try to enlighten you. The action surges on to the next act of destruction, where Edel's uninflected style works much more effectively.
To do full justice to this fascinating subject, you'd need a director with something like Martin Scorsese's appetite for detail, capacity for spectacle, and willingness to face up to his own ambivalence.
The film highlights the ugliest side of human nature and as a result it is a sobering experience, reinforcing the futility of violence
In trying to cram a great deal into 150 minutes, the filmmakers necessarily jump scenes like puddles, and sometimes the audience gets lost. But I can excuse this flaw; for one thing, the patchwork or montage style provides the time frame
The Baader-Meinhof Complex is not an easy film to watch; its violence is ugly and brutish. And there's a lot of it.
By the end you’re left with a question worth asking: What is the best way to put your ideals on the line in any country, in any era?
Edel uses documentary tropes to realize his overarching narrative, and the end result is an electrifying, morally complex story of the evil that men (and women) do in the name of the greater good.
It’d be nice to see an American filmmaker commit a similar reckoning with the Watts riots, the Weather Underground, or the Black Power movement, not simply resort to cant and kitsch but to really interpret those moments.
Edel -- perhaps wisely -- doesn't leave you much time to reflect ... as his jagged narrative rockets along like a Godard film without a subtext, propelled by violent deeds and misguided, murky, irrational motives.
For their part, Edel and Eichinger have given an under-explored episode in recent European history a serious and seriously entertaining treatment that stands on its own cinematically and historically.
Part thriller, part social history, this tense 2008 drama traces the rise and fall of the Baader-Meinhof gang.
The Baader-Meinhof Complex is diluted by too many events and characters distributed over too much time.
There's a fine line to walk when making a film about outlaws: A few wrong moves and, presto, glamorization occurs. To its credit, The Baader Meinhof Complex almost entirely avoids this pitfall.
...a watery historic stew crammed with too many events and not enough context or character development to fill out what could have been a compelling film.
... an exhaustive account of how a gang of self-appointed urban guerrillas traumatized Germany during the decade following the global paroxysms of 1968.
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