Fascinating history, very good movie — but demanding, and its lack of easy answers will frustrate some. Lessons about 21st century terrorism are implicit, but not overly stressed.
Comment
11/14/08
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2009)
86
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:80
Fresh:69
Rotten:11
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Intricately researched and impressively authentic slice of modern German History, with a terrific cast, assured direction, and a cracking script.
Theatrical Release:14-11-2008
Synopsis: Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the still fragile German democracy. The radicalized... [More]
Starring: Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz
Director: Uli Edel
Reviews for The Baader Meinhof Complex
Top CriticAs an action-packed pageant of events it is excitingly demonstrative and provocative, but as human drama it proves a mite too enigmatic and unyielding.
11/14/08
Top CriticAlong with Downfall, with whom it shares a screenwriter, this is among the greatest of the recent new wave of German films.
11/14/08
Top CriticThere is a real problem with a film that, although thoroughly researched and directed with integrity, struggles to move the audience.
11/14/08
Top CriticThere are plenty of suspect devices and home-made bombs duct-taped to alarm clocks here, but we never find out what makes their creators tick.
11/14/08
Top CriticThe Baader-Meinhof Complex, directed by Uli Edel from a screenplay by Bernd Eichinger, represents a darker vision of the period that, given the ongoing war on terror and fear about home-grown militants, seems especially timely.
11/14/08
Top CriticIt's an impressive achievement lent extra weight by masterful performances from Bleibtrau, Gedeck and Wokalek as the conflicted terrorists who became psychologically shredded by the unstoppable force the RAF had become.
11/14/08
Despite the convincing cast and hefty running time, there’s no space left for reflection and insight.
11/14/08
The film crams a vast amount of information into two-and-a-half hours, and makes an honest, intelligent attempt to portray terrorism from every angle, including the victims' and authorities' viewpoints.
11/14/08
A fascinating story, well-made, but also rather lumbering and lacking in any real focus.
11/14/08
This fascinating story may not be entirely accurate but it is certainly an engrossing film.
11/14/08
The Baader Meinhof Complex is the latest autopsy on an important and under-dramatised segment of European history. Those who do not learn from it risk being among those who might repeat it.
11/14/08
Fascinating history, very good movie -- but demanding, and its lack of easy answers will frustrate some. Lessons about 21st century terrorism are implicit, but not overly stressed.
11/14/08
Top CriticHis approach has simply been to cram everything he knows about the Baader Meinhof years into a running time of two and a half hours. It is really the most unhelpful and unenlightening film on the subject you could possibly imagine.
11/14/08
This impressively mounted and thoroughly researched film is so watchable, whatever one’s views about its fanatical participants.
11/14/08
Impressively directed and superbly written, this is an engaging, thought-provoking and thoroughly gripping thriller with terrific performances from two of Germany's biggest stars.
11/14/08
Pumped with energy and authenticity, this film recounts the tumultuous events in 1960s and 70s Germany with vivid detail and an involving cast of characters. It's breathtaking filmmaking, in every sense of the word.
11/14/08
Edel wisely reveals the charismatic qualities of the terrorist leadership: without this element it would be impossible to understand just how popular the Gang became with the young.
11/13/08
Engrossing on many levels -- except for, fatally, an emotional one.
09/29/08
It's not surprising the film was Germany's 2008 submission for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
11/01/09
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