The Baader Meinhof Complex (Uli Edel, 2008): Germany

Reviewed by William Conlin. Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival.

I always find it interesting when the themes of a film about the past can ring true today. In the case of Uli Edel’s The Baader Mainhof Complex, the viewer witnesses the stark reality of what happens when people are pushed too far by a government.

The film follows the lives of Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck), Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu) and Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek) during the years in which they founded and fought in the German terrorist group known as the Red Army Faction (RAF). Upset with social conditions within Germany and American actions in Vietnam, the terrorist group begins bombing sites around Germany. Although their actions are meant to be symbolic and they only target places where civilians won’t be hurt, members of the group begin to get more aggressive leading to infighting and chaos, with dire consequences.

The Baader Meinhof Complex is Germany’s official submission for the Academy Awards and was nominated in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. Stars Martina Gedeck (The Good Shepard) and Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola, Run) give powerhouse performances as the terrorist leaders. The film is laced with brutal violence and is shot much in the same blunt style as the 2006 thriller Children of Men.

Films like this show the terrible actions that are committed during times of social upheaval and I think that when modern audiences look back on it, they have to take a minute and imagine where they would stand if in the same position. Would they support a corrupt government or a violent cause? Make no mistake, this film doesn’t portray the RAF as heroes or martyrs, but more or less shows a time where everyone thought they were doing the right thing but in retrospect were all doing the opposite.

Ray Bradbury once said ”If you stay quiet, no one will hit you… but you will never speak.” I honestly believe that dire times call for people to speak out, but films like these should be looked at as a cautionary tale of when actions go beyond the point of sanity and reach a realm of inhumanity. I am so happy that we live in a world where people like Barack Obama can show the frightened and frustrated that violence is not the final option. It seemed like the world was on a fast track back to the days of The Baader Meinhof Complex, but for this moment in time, I think we’ve made an about face and are on the road back to tranquility.