Die Welle (2008)

A high school teacher's unusual experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit with a life of its own.

Director:

Dennis Gansel

Writers:

Ron Jones (short story and original protocols), Johnny Dawkins (screenplay),

Stars:

Frederick Lau, Max Riemelt, Jennifer Ulrich

7 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jürgen Vogel	...	Rainer Wenger
Frederick Lau	...	Tim Stoltefuss
Max Riemelt	...	Marco
Jennifer Ulrich	...	Karo
Christiane Paul	...	Anke Wenger
Jacob Matschenz	...	Dennis
Cristina do Rego	...	Lisa
Elyas M'Barek	...	Sinan
Maximilian Vollmar	...	Bomber
Max Mauff	...	Kevin (as Maximilian Mauff)
Ferdinand Schmidt-Modrow	...	Ferdi
Tim Oliver Schultz	...	Jens
Amelie Kiefer	...	Mona
Fabian Preger	...	Kaschi
Odine Johne	...	Maja

Storyline

High school teacher, Rainer Wegner, may be popular with the students, but he's also unorthodox. He's forced to teach autocracy for the school's project week. He's less than enthusiastic at first, but the response of the students is surprising to say the least. He forces the students to become more invested in the prospect of self rule, and soon the class project has its own power and eerily starts to resemble Germany's past. Can Wegner and his class realize what's happening before the horrors start repeating themselves?

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Plot Keywords:

high school teacher | experiment | school project | underwater | social experiment | 

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Taglines:

Based on a true story.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [France]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

13 March 2008 (Germany)

Also Known As:

La ola

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

€5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rat Pack Filmproduktion, Constantin Film Produktion, B.A. Produktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dennis Gansel has stated that he will never make another film about national socialism again after The Wave as he feels he has said all he has to say about the subject.

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Goofs

(at around 15 mins) The teacher is formally called Rainer Wenger, although informally he uses his first name is Rainer, among his students initially and later his surname during the project, Wenger. One might think the principal would use his first name when talking to him, but in Germany when adult colleagues speak to each other, they use their last name when talking to each other, i.e. Herr Wenger.

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Quotes

Tim Stoltefuss: Run for your life, or I'll blow your brains out.

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Crazy Credits

Opening and closing credits appear as graffiti.

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Connections

Remake of The Wave (1981)

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Soundtracks

Power Control
Written by Heiko Maile
Performed by Ronda Ray featuring Trevor Jackson
Produced by Heiko Maile
©Constantin Music Verlag / Rat Pack

User Reviews

The Wave

That's what the title "Die Welle" means. A teacher makes an experiment. He wants his class to understand what autocracy means. It starts with them stopping calling him by first name. Then they have to rise while addressed. Then, there are uniforms and a special saluting. And then, it runs out of control.

The most disturbing thing is that the teacher slowly loses control over himself, until there is a disaster.

OK, does it take a week to form young people to fascists? That's not the point. How ever long it takes, the interesting answer here is that it is possible at all. Do we run that risk too? Well, if you look into yourself, you maybe won't find a fascist, but you'll probably find someone who wants to be a part of something. Whatever it is.