Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (2008)

Director:

Uli Edel

Writers:

Stefan Aust (book)
Uli Edel (collaboration)

Release Date:

25 September 2008 (Germany)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Crime | Drama | History

Tagline:

The children of the Nazi generation vowed fascism would never rule their world again.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | 1970s | Bomb | Kidnapping | 1960s

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Martina Gedeck	...	Ulrike Meinhof
Moritz Bleibtreu	...	Andreas Baader
Johanna Wokalek	...	Gudrun Ensslin
Nadja Uhl	...	Brigitte Mohnhaupt
Stipe Erceg	...	Holger Meins
Niels-Bruno Schmidt	...	Jan Carl Raspe (as Niels Bruno Schmidt)
Vinzenz Kiefer	...	Peter-Jürgen Boock
Simon Licht	...	Horst Mahler
Alexandra Maria Lara	...	Petra Schelm
Daniel Lommatzsch	...	Christian Klar
Sebastian Blomberg	...	Rudi Dutschke
Heino Ferch	...	Horst Herold Assistant
Jan Josef Liefers	...	Peter Homann
Eckhard Dilssner	...	Horst Bubeck
Hannah Herzsprung	...	Susanne Albrecht

Also Known As:

The Baader Meinhof Complex (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
La bande à Baader (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, disturbing images, sexual content, graphic nudity and language.

Runtime:

150 min

Country:

Germany | France | Czech Republic

Language:

German | English | French | Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Czech Republic:12 | Sweden:15 | Norway:15 | Denmark:15 | Ireland:15A | UK:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:16 | France:U | Italy:VM14 | Portugal:M/16 | Hong Kong:III | South Korea:18 | Singapore:M18 | Japan:R-15 | USA:R (certificate #45552) | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Bavaria-Ateliers, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Constantin Film Produktion

Trivia:

Germany's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In several scenes throughout the movie the characters wears Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses. The Ray-Ban logo which is visible in the top, right corner of the right glass wasn't introduced until 1987, yet the movie takes place in the 1970s.

Quotes:

Brigitte Mohnhaupt: Stop seeing them the way they weren't.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Guinness World Records - Die größten Weltrekorde: (#5.1)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Child in Time

Mixed emotions

The movie of Edel and Eichinger is fine when it comes to sets and costumes. It seems to catch the mood of the late Sixties and Seventies very well. Also the lead actors Bleibtreu, Wokalek and Gedeck have delivered outstanding performances. Too bad, that they don't get a chance to really explore their characters: Too much else is going on in this movie, that completely loses its focus during the last hour. The closer we get to the end, the more it resembles a documentary with a few scenes of play cut in now and then.

The viewer is presented with a lot of facts - and violence - but the movie fails in decoding the often cited "myth" of the RAF. For example, I've always wondered, whether Baader was just a criminal or really politically motivated. Well, in the first half of the movie, Baader is portrayed as an outlaw, who enjoys provocation and fast cars. Later he delivers sophisticated political statements. A good movie should at least try to explain this development. DER BAADER MEINHOF KOMPLEX doesn't.