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Daniel Brühl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg, Burghart Klau??ner

Three young radicals face off against an older man who left behind his ideals years ago in this drama from Austria. Jan (Daniel Brühl) and Peter (Stipe Erceg) are a pair of leftist political activists... read more read more... who have their own ideas of how to strike out in the name of economic justice. Jan and Peter like to break into the homes of the rich, re-arrange their belongings, and leave behind a note crediting "the Edukators" with the invasion, satisfied that their efforts will teach their victims a lesson about the futility of wealth. Peter's girlfriend, Jule (Julia Jentsch), who has found herself homeless and deeply in debt after she ran into a Mercedes Benz in a car accident, moves in with the two friends and starts joining them on their periodic missions. Jule convinces Peter and Jan that they should hit the home of Hardenberg (Burghart Klaussner), the businessman whose Mercedes caused her so much trouble. They agree, but when Jule makes the mistake of leaving behind her cell phone, they're forced to return, only to discover Hardenberg at home and waiting for them. Not certain what to do, Jan, Peter, and Jule abduct Hardenberg and take him to a cabin in the woods while they plan their next move. However, their attempts to enlighten Hardenberg fall on deaf ears; they discover that the businessman was a leftist activist himself in his college days and, several decades on, looks upon his radical past as the folly of youth. Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei (aka The Edukators) was screened at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

88% liked it

22,016 ratings

Critics

69% liked it

75 critics

R, 2 hr. 4 min.

Directed by: Hans Weingartner

Release Date: February 12, 2005

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DVD Release Date: November 15, 2005

Stats: 1,357 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,357)

  • bookmunki
    September 25, 2010
    bookmunki
    Provocative! Is there a place for revolution within capatilistic society? Who is responsible for its ills? How can you change society without resorting to terrorism? Is hope for change merely youthful idealism? While the film raises many questions, it falls short on answers. ... read more The cast compensates for any directorial shortcomings, as the characters are sympathetic and well-acted. Stipe Erceg has 'cheekbones like geometery and eyes of sin.'
  • SirPant
    September 30, 2009
    SirPant
    Good film, well acted and with a great ending! I do however believe that camera men should not be seen! This and other continuity errors made the film a little distracting, but on the whole, good film.
  • 76Majikat
    March 1, 2009
    76Majikat
    A journey through moral dilemmas and political activism, this film has reached an instant high place within my favourite movies list and it subconsciously invites you to question your own morals which pulls you further into the story.

    With just a small cast, this was entertain... read moreing throughout and will no doubt be the first of many watches for me.
  • gor41
    December 29, 2008
    gor41
    Likeable tale of idealistic youth colliding with aged reality. It drifts a bit towards the end but raises some thought provoking issues.
  • cosmo313
    June 13, 2007
    cosmo313
    Hillarious dark comedy/satire that is basically the Germn version of Fight Club, but with less violence and profanity, but with equally brilliant writing, directing, and acting. Everyone shoul;d do themselves a favor and check this film out.
  • ironclad1609
    May 27, 2007
    ironclad1609
    Young activists versus the establishment, breaking into their houses and rearranging their furniture, leaving merely a note. Where this German movie is going from that main idea is pretty interesting and exciting. The acting is very convining, the camera work and sceneries as wel... read morel. The characters and situations are always believable and realistic. Even the solution of the story is very smart and fitting. Entertainment with message and brains. Really well done.
  • SarahG1988
    September 16, 2006
    SarahG1988
    Diffinatly a film worth watching but just wasn't interested in all that communism stuff.
  • gator681
    September 27, 2006
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "The Edukators", Jule(Julia Jentsch) is a waitress at a posh restaurant, deep in debt because of an accident on the autobahn and has been given an eviction notice from her apartment. She is also a progressive activist who is becoming frustrated at the lac... read morek of results her protests are having. Her frustration reaches the boiling point when she is fired from her job(and in the process also gets a coworker fired). While her boyfriend, Peter(Stipe Erceg) is inexplicably in Spain, his friend, Jan(Daniel Bruhl), lets her in on the friends' nocturnal activity - breaking and entering into the homes of the wealthy, rearranging the furniture and leaving a threatening note behind...[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"The Edukators" is a lumbering, plodding, overlong movie that is very predictable in its first half, before finally getting better in its second hour. What was needed was more or a carefree tone, or in other words, more B & E, less soap opera. Overall, the characters are nostalgiac towards the glory days of 60's/70's radicalism but this is a movie which cannot hope to equal the excellent political German movies of the 70's including "The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum" and "The Third Generation". [/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]The movie does have some good thoughts about worthwhile issues like compromise in a capitalist society and debt but it should be noted that debt usually takes time to add up, instead of just at once.(No personal bankruptcy in Germany?) It is scary that the Edukators's activities veer dangerously close to terrorism.(Which is pointed out late in the film.) And when condemning the rich, it is always very important to look at how they made their money. [/font]
  • threefolddado
    February 1, 2010
    threefolddado
    Great film with well developed characters, plenty of thrills and twists, good subversive philosophy, and a thumbs up ending. Check this out, you won't be disappointed.
  • littlecharmer1959
    January 8, 2009
    littlecharmer1959
    A case of good not great. I was expecting so much more from this. Still worth watching though.

View All The Edukators (Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Susan Walker
October 7, 2005
Susan Walker, Toronto Star

What is interesting to watch are the unexpected turns that occur when a jilted lover, a kidnapped rich capitalist and a pair of new lovers are cooped up in an isolated chalet. Full Review

Liam Lacey
October 7, 2005
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Plays out like an ambivalent political tract, full of dissatisfaction but no conclusions. Full Review

Kerry Lengel
September 15, 2005
Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic

Captures the frustration of those who sense something deeply dysfunctional in the political and economic status quo but feel impotent do anything about it. Full Review

Tom Long
September 9, 2005
Tom Long, Detroit News

The situations feel real, the injustices believable and the human frailty is all too recognizable.

John Monaghan
September 9, 2005
John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press

Intelligent, entertaining and, yes, educational as it looks at the nature of political activism now and then.

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
September 8, 2005
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Like its protagonists, it means well, but gets mixed up. Too easily. Full Review

Roger Moore
September 2, 2005
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

It ends interestingly, but it would've ended better, and played better, had it been half an hour shorter. Full Review

Walter V. Addiego
August 5, 2005
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle

With greater critical distance on the filmmaker's part, and a disciplined use of the editing scissors, it might have been something substantial. Full Review

Stephen Hunter
August 5, 2005
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

The whole thing feels messy, painful, funny and believable, just like that hideous circus known as real life. Full Review

Ty Burr
August 5, 2005
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

There's an evenhanded humanism flowing through 'The Edukators that may strike doctrinaire viewers on either side of the divide as mushy, but it's tough enough for the rest of us to chew on for a long ... Full Review

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