The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)

A look at Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s.

Director:

Uli Edel

Writers:

Bernd Eichinger (screenplay), Uli Edel (screenplay collaborator)

Stars:

Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martina Gedeck	...	Ulrike Meinhof
Moritz Bleibtreu	...	Andreas Baader
Johanna Wokalek	...	Gudrun Ensslin
Nadja Uhl	...	Brigitte Mohnhaupt
Stipe Erceg	...	Holger Meins
Niels-Bruno Schmidt	...	Jan Carl Raspe (as Niels Bruno Schmidt)
Vinzenz Kiefer	...	Peter-Jürgen Boock
Simon Licht	...	Horst Mahler
Alexandra Maria Lara	...	Petra Schelm
Daniel Lommatzsch	...	Christian Klar
Sebastian Blomberg	...	Rudi Dutschke
Heino Ferch	...	Horst Herold Assistant
Jan Josef Liefers	...	Peter Homann
Hannah Herzsprung	...	Susanne Albrecht
Tom Schilling	...	Josef Bachmann

Storyline

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 yet fragile German democracy. The radicalised children of the Nazi generation lead by Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Ensslin are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism supported by the German establishment, many of whom have a Nazi past. Their aim is to create a more human society but by employing inhuman means they not only spread terror and bloodshed, they also lose their own humanity. The man who understands them is also their hunter: the head of the German police force Horst Herold. And while he succeeds in his relentless pursuit of the young terrorists, he knows he's only dealing with the tip of the iceberg.

---

Plot Keywords:

terrorist | terrorism | brutality | criminal gang | police brutality | 

---

Taglines:

The children of the Nazi generation vowed fascism would never rule their world again.

---

Genres:

Action | Biography | Crime | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence, disturbing images, sexual content, graphic nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [France] Official site [Germany]

Country:

Germany France Czech Republic

Language:

German English French Swedish Arabic

Release Date:

25 September 2008 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Baader Meinhof Complex

Filming Locations:

Bavaria-Ateliers, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

€20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$4,687,119 (Germany), 28 September 2008, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,348, 21 August 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$476,270, 6 December 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constantin Film,Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF),G.T. Film Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min 184 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SR Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As an immediate reaction to the movie, Ignes Ponto, widow of Jürgen Ponto, whose assassination is portrayed in the movie, returned her Federal Cross of Merit. She was angry that the Federal Republic of Germany has never even created a memorial for victims of the RAF, but instead helped to finance films like this one about the members of the RAF. Also, she said, she had not been warned about the graphic portrayal of Ponto's assassination when she was invited to the movie premiere and felt humiliated by the producers for making her sit through this without a warning. About a month later, she filed a lawsuit against the producers, who claimed that every scene is historically accurate, because the assassination of her husband, which she had to witness from the next room, was not portrayed as it happened. She demands the scene of the murder of her husband be cut from the movie. The filmmakers claim that they had tried to contact her during production to get the scene right but she had no desire to cooperate. Before this movie, there had been no portrayal of Ponto's assassination on film and she felt the staging of the movie was lurid and dishonoring to her husband. As of this writing, no decision has been reached about the lawsuit.

---

Goofs

For a split second during the bombing of an American military HQ in Frankfurt, a soldier is seen bleeding profusely on a poster for The Dictator's album, Manifest Destiny. This bombing took place in 1972, while Manifest Destiny was released in 1977, and The Dictators didn't even form until 1973.

---

Quotes

Ulrike Meinhof: If you throw a stone, it's a crime. If a thousand stones are thrown, that's political. If you set fire to a car it's a crime; if a hundred cars are set on fire that's political.

---

Connections

Referenced in Anne Will: Baader-Meinhof goes Hollywood - Der Film, der Terror und die Opfer (2008)

User Reviews

guns and cigarettes

a few words in advance,

never could a movie dealing with the RAF reach a high average vote and lead to a general approval. It simply depends on the different emotions according to this topic. Don't forget that some 35 years ago there existed an unbelievable high support among young people for the terroristic organization whereas the majority looked with disgust at the murderers.

So watching this movie is simply not more than a check whether the director catches the already existing attitude towards this controversial topic. In my eyes, the optimal way to direct this movie would have to treat it like a partly documentary with many original television scenes connected with the presentation of the characters. What I was interested in was whether this movie is able to place the viewer inside the plot, whether one could feel the atmosphere of this extreme period of German history and whether the presented scenes are consistent with the documents one had seen in television reports before. The movie has definitely come up to my expectations. The characters are just brilliant. It is some of the best German work of acting I have ever seen, every single scenes is so consistent with the picture one has in mind. Almost nothing stays from the line of the real development. The only thing I criticize is the selection of scenes. Maybe, the killers are given to much space to call out their misplaced ideology but neither is their behavior justified nor is any sympathy given to them. There doesn't exist any scope for interpretation about who was right and who was wrong. Furthermore, a few more words could have been given to the victims of the RAF whose assassinations are presented very precisely.

All in all, it is a shocking but good movie.