Running time: 150 minutes
Starring: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz
Rating 8 out of 10
The Red Army Faction was a German terrorist group that operated from the 1960s to the early 1980s and was also known by the names of two of its charismatic leaders, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof. They had their origins in the anti-Imperialist and pro-Maoist protests that swept the West in the 1960s. America's ongoing war with Vietnam was one of the catalysts for the group, and the perceived increase in government powers as well as the threat of a police state led them to take direct action, resulting in atrocity and death across a country still trying to come to terms with re-establishing itself after two destructive wars.
Veteran German director Uli Edel has directed a film which forms a trilogy of sorts with two other recent films from his country: Downfall (which shares a producer in Bernd Eichinger) and the masterpiece The Lives of Others. All of them are films which take a cold hard look at difficult times in the nation's recent past. The Baader Meinhof Complex has received the most criticism of the three, with accusations within and without Germany that it glorifies the terrorist cause.
While it is possible to understand these accusations, it is also important to understand what makes normal intelligent people resort to such means. And Edel and Eichinger have succeeded in doing so. Meinhof (played by Martina Gedeck) was a respected political journalist and mother of two young children when her involvement began. She became a leader by default. Certainly it was the spirit of the times that acted as an impetus, but there was a deeper fear of what might happen that led to what many would consider unthinkable action.
The faction also had a charismatic figurehead in Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), whose nihilist views come across as both manipulative and charming. As a result, Edel and Eichinger do a good job in explaining just how such a group could come into being. There are also many terrifically shot sequences of the group's varied efforts at training, rebellion and the grisly results of their campaign.
This is, as the name suggests, a complex film. It sweeps through a convoluted period of recent German history, and despite its relatively long running time, still seems to leave the audience wanting the answers to many questions. Nevertheless, as a primer on some of the darker days in modern European history, it is essential viewing.
Paul Hurley
Veteran German director Uli Edel has directed a film which forms a trilogy of sorts with two other recent films from his country: Downfall (which shares a producer in Bernd Eichinger) and the masterpiece The Lives of Others. All of them are films which take a cold hard look at difficult times in the nation's recent past. The Baader Meinhof Complex has received the most criticism of the three, with accusations within and without Germany that it glorifies the terrorist cause.
While it is possible to understand these accusations, it is also important to understand what makes normal intelligent people resort to such means. And Edel and Eichinger have succeeded in doing so. Meinhof (played by Martina Gedeck) was a respected political journalist and mother of two young children when her involvement began. She became a leader by default. Certainly it was the spirit of the times that acted as an impetus, but there was a deeper fear of what might happen that led to what many would consider unthinkable action.
The faction also had a charismatic figurehead in Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), whose nihilist views come across as both manipulative and charming. As a result, Edel and Eichinger do a good job in explaining just how such a group could come into being. There are also many terrifically shot sequences of the group's varied efforts at training, rebellion and the grisly results of their campaign.
This is, as the name suggests, a complex film. It sweeps through a convoluted period of recent German history, and despite its relatively long running time, still seems to leave the audience wanting the answers to many questions. Nevertheless, as a primer on some of the darker days in modern European history, it is essential viewing.
Paul Hurley
