Nonureva Really Surprised!

Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Der Baader Meinhof Komplex" is a German 2.5-hour movie from 7 years ago that managed Golden Globe and Oscar nominations, but lost to the Israeli and Japanese entries there. And that is very acceptable as this one here is really not such a convincing movie. It is about the German left-extreme group RAF that was part of several terrorist acts in the 1960s and 1970s. First of all, the film's biggest strength is the cast: Gedeck, Bleibtreu, Wokalek, Ganz, Lara, Schilling, Ferch, Liefers, Thieme and I could go on. All very established names in German movies and you know you get quality when you see them on a cast list. The best performance here probably comes from Johanna Wokalek who plays Gudrun Ensslin brilliantly. Quite a pity she is so rare in films these days. Change that Johanna if you read this.Sadly, this magnificent cast cannot turn a mediocre movie into something great. Uli Edel and Bernd Eichinger are certainly not known for outstanding talent in terms of directing, writing and producing movies and Constantin Film AG is known for producing quantity over quality in general and this is also the case here. First of all, the films would have needed a lot more focus. They could have kept it at 100 instead of 150 minutes and nothing of value would have been lost. There are many scenes who add nothing at all to the film. This especially refers to almost the entire last 30 minutes, in which they apparently decided to basically make almost a completely new movie. Some of the characters from previously were dead (Meinhof), some were in jail, but got almost no screen time (Baader), so they went with completely new characters who never appeared before in the film and where we had no clue who they actually were and why the focus was suddenly on them. A really bad example of lacking focus. Yes it was okay that they took the Schleyer kidnapping in there, but they executed this part in the worst possibly way one could imagine.Other than that, just like with many other Eichinger productions, this film is very much showy and in your face and has pretty much zero subtlety (the last shot, in the truest sense of the word, was a great example) in terms of the script (some of the actors brought it still thanks to their talent). Edel and Eichinger were lucky that the topic (RAF) does not really need too much subtlety and they did not destroy the film with their shortcomings in that area like they did with other movies. And finally, another criticism is that Bruno Ganz who I really love as an actor was really wasted in this movie here with his character adding absolutely nothing the way he was written. Pretty sad. All in all, the movie is okay as a watch for everybody with an interest in German post-WWII history, but it's nowhere near as good as it could have been. The actors really saved it from becoming a disaster and make it worth the watch. Recommended.

elb_s Despite being politically active, and (I thought) relatively well-versed in 20th century anti-capitalist/colonialist revolutionary movements, my knowledge of the RAF going into this movie was scant.Probably because I'm American and have been raised on our cultural propaganda (wherein historic social victories are whitewashed to locate success only within our infallible constitutional framework; and where any revolutionaries since the Founding Fathers could not have acted on beliefs that were righteous, and must recant those former beliefs with soul-searching regret for their UNRIGHTEOUS ideologies)I expected a lot more focus on maudlin gray area. Not that the film cast the RAF as heroes to cheer for. Reading the reviews here, I recognize now that the critiques of the RAF's actions were present, just not in the "hit-you-over-the-head" manner of U.S. documentaries.Despite the harms done by the RAF (which were minuscule compared to the harms they protested); despite the contradiction of so much of their ideology and praxis with my own beliefs (e.g., their embracing nationalism, assassination, etc.)--I'll be damned if I didn't cheer for them all the way through.I'm surprised so many have presumed this film wouldn't resonate with a young American audience. While not so young myself, I spent a great deal of time with folks of all ages in the heyday of Occupy. The frustration at the collective inertia to action amongst complacent modern Americans is palpable amongst folks of all political stripes. And growing...at a certain point, the swelling malcontent can't help a *bit* of respect for groups who actually act on their articulated agenda...and an agenda that includes killing a few bankers and fascist cops? The elite talking head circle underestimate the mood of the American public if they suppose the history portrayed here would evince emotional disconnect or outrage. Besides, the acting was beyond-respectable, the pace engrossing, and the recreation of the era felt authentic. Admittedly there were loose ends regarding ideological development...thankfully the internet and my library provide me plenty opportunity to tie up those ends.As initially stated, I find my inner blood-lust a bit disturbing upon reflection (you hear that PRISM? I neither have nor plan to have a murderous vanguard association at any point!)...but in this era of learned helplessness, I'm not sure that's entirely a bad thing.

Robyn Nesbitt (nesfilmreviews) "The Baader-Meinhof Group" is a provocative, brutal, German film meticulously directed by Uli Edel "Last Exit to Brooklyn" (1990), written by Bernd Eichinger "Downfall" (2004), and stars some of Germany's best actors: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek and Bruno Ganz. These talents come together to tell the story of the founders of the Red Faction Army (RAF), one of Germany's violent left- wing anti-capitalist group against western imperialism in Germany, whose logo is a combination of a Red Star and an MP5 sub-machine gun. Working off of transcripts and real-life accounts, Uli Edel simply re-creates the story and history of the Red Army Faction in accordance with the historical record, while never imposing judgment or opinions. Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks; the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy infiltrating high levels of government is rocking at the very foundations of the fragile German democracy. The radicalized children of the Nazi generation are led by Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof, and Gudrun Ensslin who 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 the use of terrorism and the threat of violence, they lose their own humanity in the process. "The Baader Meinhof Complex" is visually riveting with fantastic action scenes, and at times can become almost emotionally overwhelming. Edel propels the complex narrative and its myriad ricochets, and it surprisingly holds together quite well. That being said, the sheer length and constant brutality and bloodshed mount, making the viewing of last third of the film laborious. An impressive, well done period piece, but "The Baader-Meinhof Complex" is diluted by too many events, with too many characters, distributed over too much time.

tsono If you are a leftist, anarchist, communist, historian or interested in history, R.A.F sympathizer, baby boomer, urban guerrilla sympathizer, wired different; or if you simply hate your government and like things go boom-boom and bang-bang, you will adore this movie. If you are none of the above mentioned, go watch Twilight. First things first, this is an adaptation of 'Baader Meinhof: The Inside Story of the R.A.F.' (which I bought after watching the movie) by Stefan Aust (who was in fact in touch with Ulrike Meinfoh and later the R.A.F. and later hunted by them). All the pictures and facts in the book have been depicted in the movie with astonishing accuracy. The book 'The Red Army Faction, A Documentary History: Projectiles for the People' also corresponds its credibility. So you won't be thrown in the wrong direction if you watch this movie. It is unbiased and you are free to make your own assumptions and principles. Secondly, the star cast. My personal best are Johanna Wokalek (Gudrun Ensslin), Sebastian Blomberg (Rudi Dutschke) and Bruno Ganz (Horst Herold). Of course, Moritz Bleibtreu (Andreas Baader) and Martina Gedeck (Ulrike Meinhof) and many others I don't know (as I'm not from Germany). Johanna quoting Mao, Sebastian crawling away after being shot at three times, and Bruno Ganz comprehending the political situation are some of my favorite scenes. So, summing up, we get to see how a group of youngsters who think ahead of their generation start protesting against the American and European capitalism, Vietnam War, bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killings of Che Guevara and Martin Luther King, autocracy of the Shah of Iran and hitherto politics by burning a department store, which is just the beginning of their doom. I saw this movie back in 2009. I'm reviewing it this late because of the recent hassle created by the Occupy protests. The acting is intriguing and the facts are real. You need to watch this one.