It doggedly refuses easy ways out, and it has the guts, brains and critical eye to plumb the roots of terror and its bloody consequences.
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:17
Fresh:14
Rotten:3
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.
Theatrical Release:Aug 21, 2009 Limited
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
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Reviews for The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Baader-Meinhof Complex is not an easy film to watch; its violence is ugly and brutish. And there's a lot of it.
Part thriller, part social history, this tense 2008 drama traces the rise and fall of the Baader-Meinhof gang.
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.
There are some literally killer performances here, most notably Johanna Wokalek as Gudrun.
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?
The Baader-Meinhof Complex is diluted by too many events and characters distributed over too much time.
Even though its purpose couldn't be more serious, its style could hardly be more pulp. Which is probably fitting for a group that started out with high-minded goals and ended up robbing banks and blowing people away.
I have seen The Baader Meinhof Complex three or four times now, and, despite exasperation with its fissile form, I find it impossible not to be plunged afresh into this engulfing age of European anxiety.
The Baader Meinhof Complex isn't, very: This saga of Communist terrorists sowing mayhem in 1970s Germany treats a bloody band as a unit of stouthearted warriors sallying forth to fight for their principles against impossible odds.
This dramatic film documents a decade of near-anarchy in Germany, beginning with a brutal 1967 police riot.
The movie has an undeniable sweep, increasing in intensity once the principals are arrested in June 1972.
A long but powerful true-life drama of 1970s German terrorists features masterful storytelling and bravura performances.
An explosive performance by Johanna Wokalek gives some relief to an otherwise long and humdrum series of characters, blow-'em-ups and prison locations.
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