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

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:

$393,664 (Germany), 10 December 2004

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,075, 24 July 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$175,493, 16 October 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Y3 Film, Coop99 Filmproduktion, Südwestrundfunk (SWR)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song "Where's The Real Sky" is credited to Jeff Cole on the soundtrack and was mentioned in the movie as a favorite artist of Jan and Jule. Jeff Cole is a pseudonym for the score-writer, Andreas Wodraschke. The singer is his friend Sam Genders of London.

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Goofs

Despite Jan, Peter and Jule all standing on the top deck of the yacht when cruising out of the harbor, a person can be seen in the cabin of the yacht in a side shot.

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Quotes

[last words]
Note on Wall: "Some People Never Change."

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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

Remade as The Edukators

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Soundtracks

Easy to Love
Written by Neuburger, Neuburger, Rosenacker, Schaller, Arbeithuber
Performed by Slut
Published by Hanseatic Musikverlag/Neu Welt Musikverlag/Warner Music
Released by Virgin Music

User Reviews

Easily one of the best films about activism

The first review I read of this movie criticized the camera work. I wonder why? For an indie production, this was a surprisingly high quality film and nowhere near as jerky as, say, Cloverfield. If you tend towards sea-sickness and have been avoiding watching this film for that reason then rest assured that there is no need to bring a sick bag to the viewing.

Having said that, I found the Edukators to be a well developed character drama that pulled the carpet out from under my feet just when it started to get too comfortable. The three central, activist characters have perfect amount of cynicism, idealism and vulnerability. Their views never came across as preachy, merely pragmatic. But then I'm left wing, so I guess I would say that - however, the 'other side of the story' gets a chance to be heard in the form of Mr. Hardenberg. As a child of a baby boomer I found him to be a familiar character, full of his generation's mournful sense of complicity in corruption. The only complaint i had is that the action drags a bit towards the end, but this is compensated for by the clever twist at the ending.

It's hard to find a story out there that actually contributes emotional depth to the 'capitalist vs. socialist' debate instead of focusing on rhetoric. That's why I am thankful to the makers of this film for contributing such a solid story to the mix. I would definitely recommend it to any activist friends who want to think beyond the next demo and/or leafletting session.