The Edukators (2004)

Three activists cobble together a kidnapping plot after they encounter a businessman in his home.

Director:

Hans Weingartner

Writers:

Katharina Held, Hans Weingartner

Stars:

Daniel Brühl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg

11 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Brühl	...	Jan
Julia Jentsch	...	Jule
Stipe Erceg	...	Peter
Burghart Klaußner	...	Hardenberg (as Burghart Klaussner)
Peer Martiny	...	Villenbesitzer Jürgen
Petra Zieser	...	Villenbesitzerin
Laura Schmidt	...	Tochter Laura
Sebastian Butz	...	Sohn
Oliver Bröcker	...	Aggressiver Globalisierungsgegner
Knut Berger	...	Globalisierungsgegner
Hanns Zischler	...	Vermieter
Claudio Caiolo	...	Paolo
Bernhard Bettermann	...	Jules Chef
Sylvia Haider	...	Neureiche Frau 1
Claudia Jakobshagen	...	Neureiche Frau 2

Storyline

Berlin student Jule is hoplessly indebted due to an accident she caused, uninsuredly hitting a rich businessman's limousine. Evicted from her flat she moves in with her boyfrend Peter and soon learns that Peter and his flatmate, Jan, are breaking into luxurious mansions at night. Instead of stealing or vandalizing, though, they carefully and ornately rearrange furniture and valulables and leave obscure messages. Jule convinces Jan, who has a crush on her, to pay a visit to the villa of her creditor.

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Plot Keywords:

activism | trio | euro | kidnapping | propaganda | 

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Taglines:

Every Heart is a revolutionary cell

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, a scene of sexuality, and some drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tagline in the English-language releases of the film, "Your days of plenty are numbered", is a direct translation of the film's original German title.

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Goofs

When Jan, Jule, and Peter are having their first major discussion with Hardenberg at the cabin, Jan's cigarette is almost finished, but half-way through the scene he suddenly has a full cigarette again between cuts.

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Quotes

Hardenberg: I admit that some of what you say is true, but I'm the wrong person to be blamed for. Yes, I've been playing the game but I didn't make up the rules.
Peter: It's not who invented the gun, man. It's who pulls the trigger.

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Crazy Credits

There is an additional take after the credits related to the last project of the three protagonists.

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Alternate Versions

All foreign (non-German) theatrical versions omit a scene in the ending. The reason for this is that the scene had not been finished at the time the movie was shown at the Cannes film festival. But the distribution rights had already been sold to 44 countries and the director didn't want to force local distributors to take the new ending.

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Connections

References The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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Soundtracks

Hyperspace
Written by Caws, Lorca, Elliott
Performed by Nada Surf
Published by Budde Muikverlag
Released by Strictly Confidential Germany/Warner Music

User Reviews

Great cast, plot, photography, and overall very inspiring.

The cast is impressive. Daniel Bruhl once again shows that he can act. The plot attracts your entire attention as you live the experiences of these three kids in Berlin, and their quest to denounce the evils of capitalism. There's romance, jokes, great scenery and good music. At first it seemed to me this movie was the continuation of Good Bye Lenin (probably because of Daniel in Berlin?) Eitherway, It made me want to travel around Europe some more, learn German, and also think about my obsession with shopping and TV. Very inspiring. In a few words, this movie questions our understanding of happiness and success in a very entertaining way.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Taiwan]

Country:

Germany Austria

Language:

German English

Release Date:

25 November 2004 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Edukators

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,075, 24 July 2005

Gross USA:

$175,493

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,152,859

Company Credits

Production Co:

Y3 Film, Coop99 Filmproduktion, Südwestrundfunk (SWR)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1