The Baader Meinhof Complex 2008

      This movie is based on a novel by Stefan Aust.  Filming was done in Germany, France and Czech Republic.  The setting is in Germany of the 1970s.  There are murderous bomb attacks, the constant threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside this country.  These elements are rocking the very foundation of the still fragile German democracy.  The radicalized children of the Nazi generation lead by Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Ensslin are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism.  American imperialism is supported by the German establishment and many of them have a Nazi past.  The aim of this group is to create a more human society but by employing inhuman means they not only spreading terror and bloodshed, they also lose their own humanity.  The man who understands them is also the hunting them.  He is the head of the German police force and his name is Horst Herold.  While he succeeds in his relentless pursuit of the young terrorists, he knows he's only dealing with the tip of the iceberg.

     The definition of Baader-Meinhof Complex refers to the difference between something actually happening a lot and something that your awareness of something increases.  This leads you to believe it is actually happening more but that cannot be the reality?  The Baader-Meinhof Group, also known as Red Army Faction (RAF), was a left-wing militant group active in West Germany from 1970 to 1998.  Baader-Meinhof may also refer to the man Der Baader.  This Group was also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang and they murdered 33 people and more than 200 people were injured during their campaign that formally ended in early 1990’s with the RAF disbanded.  Not all cases have been solved or explained.

     This movie illuminates the late 60’s and early 70's political climate of Germany and brings it to life.  The Baeder Meinhof group was very similar to the Weather Underground in the U.S. but much more violent.  In the 1960's there was a lot about the Weather Underground in the news but virtually nothing about the Baeder Meinhof group.  This film goes a step further and can be very educational.  The tragedy of idealism perverted into violence was similar in both groups.  This film is also expertly cast and moves along in a tense, fast-paced fashion.  It will enlighten viewers who want an insight into what the most violent of the young people of Germany tried to achieve.  It is also an object lesson in the failure of violence as a tool of social change.  Finally, it provides an insight into the genesis of modern political terrorism, a movement that still exists in the world today.  4.5* out of 5* (I liked this movie)  

190 min, Action directed and written by Uli Edel and also written by Bernd Eichinger and Stefan Aust with Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Jan Josef Liefers, Nada Uhl, Alexandra Maria Lara, Heino Ferch, Stipe Ercg, Niels-Bruno Schmidt, Vinzenz Kiefer, Tom Schilling, Susanne Bormann, Simon Licht, Daniel Lommatzsch, Sebastian Blomberg.

Note:  7.4* out of 10* with 36,102 reviews,  Imdb Roger Ebert 2 1/2*, Rotten Tomatoes 85% with 101 critic reviews 80% with 10,000+ audience scores, Letterboxd 3.5* out of 5* with 7,100 votes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 566 reviews.

Special Note:  As an immediate reaction to this movie Ignes Ponto, widow of Jürgen Ponto, returned her Federal Cross of Merit.  Jurge Ponto’s assassination is portrayed in the movie.  She was angry that the Federal Republic of Germany has never created a memorial for victims of the RAF.  Instead, they helped to finance films like this one about the members of the RAF.  Also, she said that she had not been warned about the graphic portrayal of Ponto's assassination?  She was invited to the movie premiere and she felt humiliated by the producers for making her sit through this without an advance warning.  About a month later, she filed a lawsuit against the producers and they claimed that every scene is historically accurate.  She told them that the assassination of her husband that she had to witness from the next room, was not portrayed as it happened.   She demanded the scene of the murder be cut from the movie.  The filmmakers claim that they had tried to contact her during production to get the scene right but she had no desire to help them?  Before this movie, there had been no portrayal of Ponto's assassination on film and she felt the staging of the movie was lurid and dishonoring to her husband.  As of this writing, no decision has been reached about the lawsuit.   

Mistakes:  The barbed wire around Stammheim Prison is of a modern type with blades rather than barbs.  For a split second during the bombing of an American military HQ in Frankfurt, a soldier is seen bleeding profusely on a poster for The Dictator's album, Manifest Destiny.  This bombing took place in 1972, Manifest Destiny was released in 1977 and The Dictators didn't form until 1973.  The FEG P9R pistol used by Petra Schelm wasn't invented until ten years after she was killed.  The Croatian Mini Ero used in the ambush and kidnapping of Hanns-Martin Schleyer did not exist at the time the incident took place.