Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (The Baader Meinhof Complex)...

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  November 23, 2011

  garyX

  The leaders of a terrorist group working within Germany in the 1970s are hunted down and imprisoned while their comrades perpetrate increasingly desperate plans for their release. The Baader Meinhof Complex is an interesting look at a period of German history I new little about, ... read morewhen the new generation feared the apathy that led to Hitler's rise and decided to act against what they saw as similarly imperialist actions. This gives an interesting political backdrop to some well executed action sequences during the first half of the film but unfortunately once they are captured, the film becomes quite unfocussed and slightly tiresome. It degenerates into various scenes of prison cell squabbling which is in no way aided by the fact that there is no central character the viewer can identify with (or hate for that matter) and so it all becomes a little difficult to care about any of these "idealists" who actually come across as arrogant, obnoxious and hypocritical. It does have its good points and is certainly an interesting backdrop to the political situation of the 1970s, but as a story of individuals it fails to engage on any real level.

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  October 16, 2011

  ironclad1609

  The true story of terror attacks in Germany of the 1960s and 70s, performed by left extremists of the Red Army Fraction. While the movie is already two and a half hours long, it would have needed even another hour to deliver the background for people not familiar with this part o... read moref Germany's history. Especially the end comes rather suddenly and should have some explanations added for foreign audiences. That being said, the film does a great job in bringing this time back to life by rushing through the most important events in a really exciting and interesting way, following the most important characters on both sides of the law. The cast reads like a who is who of current German cinema, the performances are all around great, especially by Moritz Bleibtreu as terrorist leader Andreas Baader. By using montages with original news footage and music, delivering some of the strongest scenes, the film manages to sum up the mood, thread, ideas and emotions involved at that time really well. It just shows what happened, without judging or taking either the terrorists' or the law's side. A great history lesson, but probably hard to consume without some more background information.

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  August 19, 2011

  DrBenway

  The ideals and the commitments made by those involved in the actual story are truly intriguing, However, I'm not well versed enough on Germany's post-war history to be much of an authority. With that said, The Baader Meinhof Complex, unfortunately, comes across as a tangled mess... read more, at least plot wise.
  
  Instead of bringing forth worldwide revolution, the Baader Meinhoff Complex became hunted criminals. Eventually, the group was rounded up and put on trial. While incarcerated, the urban legends and conspiracy theories about the Baader Meinhoff Complex grow from within prison walls.
  
  
  

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  November 7, 2010

  bookmunki

  WOW!!! A very powerful, intense, eerie, shocking film. There is no positive outcome with terrorism. Idealism, objectives, and goals are muddled by the means. Yet, there is no doubt that there are societal wrongs that require correction and reigning powers are sometimes part of ... read moreor benefit from the problem. I know nothing about this era of German history or the veracity of this presentation, but seeing this film triggers the desire to learn more about the context.

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  September 27, 2010

  guaybanex

  Meticulous German film that chronicles the rise and early years of the German militant group the Red Army Faction. "The Baader Meinhof Complex" is a well documented, nicely crafted film with passionate performances, superb editing of existing footage with filmed scenes giving it... read more a realistic feel.
  
  What "Baader Meinhof" does well is bring you into the moment. Ulrike Meinhof is at first an opinionated columnist who denounces Government practices and shows support for some of the rising anti-Government movements happening in her country. She moves from being observer and chronicler to active participant after meeting Andreas Baader and his partner Gudrun Ensslin after they bomb a department store.
  
  "Baader Meinhof" is an incredibly well-researched film and that academic excellence mars its ability to become an encompassing film. While the performances are great, the film goes into so much exhaustive detail that it keeps you at arm's length disallowing you to fully understand Meinhof, Baader and Ensslin and invest in their fate. By the time they begin to in fight and crumble emotionally and the RAF movement begins to take on a life beyond their control, "Baader Meinhof" becomes a History lesson that you've dozed off on leaving you informed but emotionally uninvested.

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  February 11, 2010

  YLOWBSTARDreturns

  Electrifying! One of the best films of 2009 (I know it was nominated for awards in 2008, but the film was properly released in NA in 2009... thus, it's on my best of 2009 list).

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  September 17, 2009

  deano

  Interesting true story of this 2009 Oscar nominated for Best Foreign Language Film of German production is based on the exploits of Berlin's Red Army Faction, a terrorist group active during the 1970s who fought against American imperialism. That was almost even to 1988 American ... read moreproduction's Patty Hearst. Great politician cinema I've ever seen; the direction, the acting, the script and the editing.
  The quality of the acting ranges from good to fantastic (with very few exceptions like Alexandra Maria Lara, who is nothing more than wide-eyed again and who thankfully doesn't even have dialogue). Especially Martina Gedeck and Johanna Wokalek are sensational. It is THEIR film and the conflicts in Stammheim which led to Meinhof's suicide are acted Oscar-worthy. But Michael Gwisdek (Ensslin's father), Jan Josef Liefers (Peter Homann), Sebastian Blomberg (Rudi Dutschke), Nadja Uhl (Brigitte Mohnhaupt) and Hannah Herzsprung (Susanne Albrecht) arey good.

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  August 21, 2009

  dunmyer

  "The Baader-Meinhof Complex" is a superficial, television-style movie about the Red Army Faction, the West German revolutionary group that led a wave of assassinations and bombings in the 1970s. I don't really understand why films about revolutionaries are always so shallow. I kn... read moreow of course that the vast majority of people, including filmmakers, don't understand revolutionaries. But why would someone who doesn't understand revolutionaries want to do a film about them?
  
  It is a similar case with films about painters and writers. The most intense artists always have the most shallow filmmakers interested in making films about them. I'd like to make a film about a superficial filmmaker making a movie about extremely intense subject matter. That would be intriguing.
  
  "Baader-Meinhof Complex" isn't terrible. It is dramatically taut and keeps one's interest. It chronicles the founding of the RAF by Andreas Baader and his girlfriend Gudrun Ensslin and the recruitment of the well-known journalist Ulrike Meinhof to their cause. The scenes where Meinhof joins the group are a perfect example of the film's superficiality. The audience learns almost nothing about why this middle-class mother of two abandons her children and joins a fiercely violent revolutionary group. The most basic motivations of the characters are incomprehensible. Only the most formulaic and glib explanations are offered, such as that Meinhof was tired of just talking and wanted to act.
  
  The poster art is indicative of the film's uncomprehending stance vis-a-vis its subjects. On the poster, Baader and Ensslin are depicted as cartoon characters. The film does indeed present its protagonists as cartoons, and that's why it is a mediocre work of art.
  
  Historical note: I don't know why the group became known as the Baader-Meinhof gang. Based at least on the film's depiction, the group really should have been known by the moniker Baader-Ensslin. Gudrun Ensslin co-led the group with Baader from day one and never strayed from Baader's side. It also is reasonable to speculate that without her there would never have been an RAF. Her revolutionary commitment was ferocious and undying.
  
  Meinhof published many writings about the group, but it doesn't appear she was much of a leader. She also appears not to have been very close personally to either Baader or Ensslin. At the time of her death, furthermore, Meinhof seems to have been reconsidering the wisdom of her life's path in a way that was quite different from Baader and Ensslin, who remained committed to the end.

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  May 17, 2009

  LorenzoVonMatterhorn

  "Stop seeing them the way they weren't."
  
  A look at Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s. Based on Stefan Aust's best-selling nonfiction book.
  
  ... read morent size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook">REVIEW
  Although being somewhat more than moderately interested in politics, I knew very little about the original activities on which this film is based. Having seen the film, I now feel vastly more knowledgeable on how world events in the late sixties and early seventies led from the emergence to the demise of this particular left wing faction. 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 this year. A masterpiece of political film making. Highly recommended.

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  April 26, 2009

  gor41

  Interesting and complex labour of love from Edel which demands a lot from the viewer with its historical sweep. It is long and the pace varies dramatically but you will learn a lot about the subject.

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• Martina Gedeck as Ulrike Meinhof
• Moritz Bleibtreu as Andreas Baader
• Johanna Wokalek as Gudrun Ensslin
• Bruno Ganz as Horst Herold
• Vinzenz Kiefer as Peter-Juergen Boock
• Nadja Uhl as Brigitte Mohnhaupt
• Stipe Erceg as Holger Meins
• Niels Bruno Schmidt as Jan-Carl Raspe
• Simon Licht as Horst Mahler

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