Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Forumrxes Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Robyn Nesbitt (nesfilmreviews) "The Baader-Meinhof Group" is a provocative, brutal, German film meticulously directed by Uli Edel "Last Exit to Brooklyn" (1990), written by Bernd Eichinger "Downfall" (2004), and stars some of Germany's best actors: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek and Bruno Ganz. These talents come together to tell the story of the founders of the Red Faction Army (RAF), one of Germany's violent left- wing anti-capitalist group against western imperialism in Germany, whose logo is a combination of a Red Star and an MP5 sub-machine gun. Working off of transcripts and real-life accounts, Uli Edel simply re-creates the story and history of the Red Army Faction in accordance with the historical record, while never imposing judgment or opinions. Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks; the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy infiltrating high levels of government is rocking at the very foundations of the fragile German democracy. The radicalized children of the Nazi generation are led by Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof, and Gudrun Ensslin who 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 the use of terrorism and the threat of violence, they lose their own humanity in the process. "The Baader Meinhof Complex" is visually riveting with fantastic action scenes, and at times can become almost emotionally overwhelming. Edel propels the complex narrative and its myriad ricochets, and it surprisingly holds together quite well. That being said, the sheer length and constant brutality and bloodshed mount, making the viewing of last third of the film laborious. An impressive, well done period piece, but "The Baader-Meinhof Complex" is diluted by too many events, with too many characters, distributed over too much time.

gelman@attglobal.net I knew about the Baader-Meinhof gang but it wasn't the big story in the U.S. that it was in Europe. Youth unrest was widespread at the time and, although the Red Army Faction might have been the most violent group in the West, it wasn't as unique here as it was in Germany and nearby countries. So I didn't know when I went to see the film what to expect. Was I going to see an actual documentary? Was it fiction based on 'real events," an increasingly popular form that sometimes puts a premium on accuracy and sometimes on drama at the expense of accuracy. While watching the film, I had no idea how close any of it was to the truth. I knew about Rudi Dutschke and I remembered Ulrike Meinhof, mainly because she was the public face of the gang. But I don't recall knowing who or what Baader was, and I certainly never heard of any of the others. I was interested to learn afterward that the film closely tracked a major book on the history of the gang. It makes quite a good movie, and the people in it are fascinating., particularly Andreas Badder, Mrs. Meinhof and Gudrun Essenlin. Baader appears to have been a charismatic and mercurial man who is thrilled by the chances he takes. Ulrike Meinhof as portrayed in the film is smart but unstable. Gudrun Essenlin, Baader's sexy, free- loving girlfriend, is the ideological firebrand. With Rudi Dutscke in London recovering from an assassination attempt, the others may be willing participants in robbery and murder, but they are followers not leaders. The dramatic arc of this film is said to be modeled on actual events but, if that's true, history proves to be unexpected artful. Tension is sustained all the way, the major characters are highly individualized, the acting is quite good, the cinematic values are high and, while the musical choices are sometimes jarring (Janis Joplin singing "Lord won't you give me a Mercedes-Benz, the film is as the over-line says a fascinating reconstruction of a fraught period in history. Looked at from 30+ years later, the deadly career of the Baader- Meinhof crowd seems juvenile and also quaint.

pvbklyn I remember the Baader-Meinhof "gang" only from the scant news reports at the time as they were presented in the U.S. press. Recently I was reading a John LeCarre novel, "Absolute Friends" and at the beginning one of the characters is involved with the democratic protests in Germany in the 60's and the names of Rudi Dutschke and Ulrike Meinhof were referred to. So having looked them up, I read a bit about them and then while reading about the RAF (Red Army Faction), I came across a reference to this film. So the film was quite arresting and engaging and provides a narrative to the events as reported over 10 years. All the events are supposedly factual.According to the film we have a group of youthful activists whose parents lived through the Nazi era and opposed Nazism, quietly opposed Nazism, and these activists were concerned that the rise of fascism in Germany and especially the U.S. was taking place and they wanted to fight for a freer more democratic world. However, the group evolves or rather devolves into violent extremists whose plans for this better world goes completely haywire.Still I found it impossible to completely dismiss their aims as "freedom fighters" though the film sort of does that, but at the same time it's impossible to embrace them as democratic political operatives who just went astray. They became murderers, unreasonable and no doubt totally crazed. Their message was clear but their means to achieve that message fit in with the insanity of the times which only allowed for either/or positions, no compromise nor clear-headed thinking and action. Their blows against the state inspired very few and certainly didn't cause the masses to rise up.As I reflect upon this film, it becomes clear that the state was far more formidable then the RAF thought it might be, and if we pay attention to current events, today it should be clear that it is even more formidable. So what we have in this film is more a cautionary tale being told than just a thrilling entertainment or a historical narrative. Cinematically speaking excellent story, great action, terrific acting and direction. Some reviewers think less of this film because there are too many characters. Perhaps. But the best thing would be to read a bit about them before viewing.

tsono If you are a leftist, anarchist, communist, historian or interested in history, R.A.F sympathizer, baby boomer, urban guerrilla sympathizer, wired different; or if you simply hate your government and like things go boom-boom and bang-bang, you will adore this movie. If you are none of the above mentioned, go watch Twilight. First things first, this is an adaptation of 'Baader Meinhof: The Inside Story of the R.A.F.' (which I bought after watching the movie) by Stefan Aust (who was in fact in touch with Ulrike Meinfoh and later the R.A.F. and later hunted by them). All the pictures and facts in the book have been depicted in the movie with astonishing accuracy. The book 'The Red Army Faction, A Documentary History: Projectiles for the People' also corresponds its credibility. So you won't be thrown in the wrong direction if you watch this movie. It is unbiased and you are free to make your own assumptions and principles. Secondly, the star cast. My personal best are Johanna Wokalek (Gudrun Ensslin), Sebastian Blomberg (Rudi Dutschke) and Bruno Ganz (Horst Herold). Of course, Moritz Bleibtreu (Andreas Baader) and Martina Gedeck (Ulrike Meinhof) and many others I don't know (as I'm not from Germany). Johanna quoting Mao, Sebastian crawling away after being shot at three times, and Bruno Ganz comprehending the political situation are some of my favorite scenes. So, summing up, we get to see how a group of youngsters who think ahead of their generation start protesting against the American and European capitalism, Vietnam War, bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killings of Che Guevara and Martin Luther King, autocracy of the Shah of Iran and hitherto politics by burning a department store, which is just the beginning of their doom. I saw this movie back in 2009. I'm reviewing it this late because of the recent hassle created by the Occupy protests. The acting is intriguing and the facts are real. You need to watch this one.