The Baader Meinhof Complex

Name: The Baader Meinhof Complex
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, History, Crime
Released: August 21, 2009
Duration: 150 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Johanna Wokalek, Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Nadja Uhl

2009

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Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Ratings

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Ratings

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The Baader Meinhof Complex

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Movie Details & Credits

Vitagraph Films | Release Date: August 21, 2009 | R

Starring: Johanna Wokalek, Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Nadja Uhl

Summary: 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 still fragile German democracy. The radicalised children of the Nazi generation led by Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Ensslin are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as theGermany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the still fragile German democracy. The radicalised children of the Nazi generation led 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. (Vitagraph Films)… Expand

Director: Uli Edel

Genre(s): Action, Biography, Drama, History, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 150 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

J.R. Jones

An explosive but scrupulously journalistic drama about the radical group that terrorized Germany for nearly 30 years. Read full review

Bonnie J. Gordon

A long but powerful true-life drama of 1970s German terrorists features masterful storytelling and bravura performances. Read full review

Marc Savlov

The end result is an electrifying, morally complex story of the evil that men (and women) do in the name of the greater good. Read full review

Ann Hornaday

Seems propelled by a doomed sense of inevitability and is all the more gripping for it. Read full review

Steven Rea

If Edel's Oscar-nominated film drags in its final 40 minutes, it's a function of the director's fidelity to the facts - and the fact that the founding trio (and the film's stars) have become prisoners of the state, confined and confused. Read full review

Shawn Levy

The film is gummed up by Bruno Ganz as an intelligence officer who wants not only to capture the bad guys but to understand them -- and to explain them, hand-wringingly, endlessly. Read full review

David Fear

This isn’t revisionist history; it’s a key moment in political radicalism reduced to an empty pop-cultural posture. Read full review

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User Reviews

RainFall

Nov 14, 2012

Great film. I went into it expending some propaganda piece one way or the other but i left with thoughts similar to Hitchens about the beautiful display of blurring lines between criminality and rebellion/revolution. It's well casted, well acted. Baader seemed to be a bit over the topGreat film. I went into it expending some propaganda piece one way or the other but i left with thoughts similar to Hitchens about the beautiful display of blurring lines between criminality and rebellion/revolution. It's well casted, well acted. Baader seemed to be a bit over the top psychopath/sociopath, but i don't know the history well enough to know if he was really like that. The movie was very immersive and it hardly felt subtitled at all. Went in skeptical, left a fan.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

RobertW.

Aug 25, 2009

Why is this film not being produced to the public and media?

0 of 0 users found this helpful

PekkaP.

Aug 22, 2009

Good flick, at times very violent, but considering the topic, what do you expect, and the violence isn't gratuitous. Excellent actors as well.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Nesbitt10

Jun 18, 2013

“The Baader-Meinhof Group” is a provocative, brutal, German film meticulously directed by Uli Edel "Last Exit to Brooklyn" (1990), written by Bernd Eichinger "Downfall" (2004), and stars some of Germany's best actors: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek and Bruno Ganz. These“The Baader-Meinhof Group” is a provocative, brutal, German film meticulously directed by Uli Edel "Last Exit to Brooklyn" (1990), written by Bernd Eichinger "Downfall" (2004), and stars some of Germany's best actors: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek and Bruno Ganz. These talents come together to tell the story of the founders of the Red Faction Army (RAF), one of Germany's violent left-wing anti-capitalist group against western imperialism in Germany, whose logo is a combination of a Red Star and an MP5 sub-machine gun.
Working off of transcripts and real-life accounts, Uli Edel simply re-creates the story and history of the Red Army Faction in accordance with the historical record, while never imposing judgment or opinions.

Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks; the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy infiltrating high levels of government is rocking at the very foundations of the fragile German democracy. The radicalized children of the Nazi generation are led by Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof, and Gudrun Ensslin who 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 the use of terrorism and the threat of violence, they lose their own humanity in the process.

"The Baader Meinhof Complex" is visually riveting with fantastic action scenes, and at times can become almost emotionally overwhelming. Edel propels the complex narrative and its myriad ricochets, and it surprisingly holds together quite well. That being said, the sheer length and constant brutality and bloodshed mount, making the viewing of last third of the film laborious. An impressive, well done period piece, but "The Baader-Meinhof Complex" is diluted by too many events, with too many characters, distributed over too much time.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Broyax

Dec 18, 2017

La bande à Baader ou autrement dit la Fraction Armée Rouge a semé la terreur en Allemagne de l'Ouest dans les années 70... évidemment, ils n'auraient pas osé ni (ni été en mesure de) foutre la merde en RDA, l'ignoble dictature communiste à la botte des Soviets parce qu'on les aurait exécutésLa bande à Baader ou autrement dit la Fraction Armée Rouge a semé la terreur en Allemagne de l'Ouest dans les années 70... évidemment, ils n'auraient pas osé ni (ni été en mesure de) foutre la merde en RDA, l'ignoble dictature communiste à la botte des Soviets parce qu'on les aurait exécutés illico presto -et que bien sûr dans l'esprit détraqué de ces jeunes anarcho-communistes, le Bloc de l'Est est un parangon de vertu... comme à Viet-Cong land.

C'est assez hallucinant de voir de tels trous du cul prendre les armes dans une Allemagne libre et démocratique mais l'Italie a connu également à la même période ses Brigades Rouges tout aussi tarées. Enlèvements, attentats à la bombe, assassinats, braquages, détournements, prises d'otages, la liste des exactions de ce groupe terroriste est longue comme le bras...

Cela, le film allemand le montre admirablement, le démontre sans oeillères, sans états d'âme et avec une sobriété qui augmentent encore l'impact de ce qui constitue à la fois un quasi-documentaire et un film d'action spectaculaire à la réalisation très rigoureuse. La distribution est très convaincante, sans même parler de la star locale Moritz Bleibtreu, et filles et garçons de la Fraction rendent compte avec à-propos du fanatisme délirant qui habite leurs personnages.

Du côté des Forces de l'ordre, Bruno Ganz est bien entendu parfait, même si -et c'est là une faiblesse du film- le point de vue de l'Etat fédéral n'est pas autant développé que celui de la nébuleuse terroriste. On peut déplorer aussi -sans doute- un léger parti pris du réalisateur -surtout vers le début- tendant à justifier ou en tout cas à ne pas stigmatiser ce qui va devenir une sérieuse épine dans le pied de l'Allemagne...

Bien entendu, toute cette époque est très agitée et compliquée et je ne stigmatiserai pas non plus le réalisateur de vouloir tout montrer, notamment une police répressive, puis carrément énervée bien plus tard par cette bande de cinglés... alors que par ailleurs, les autorités ont souvent fait preuve d'une mollesse certaine vis-à-vis de ces terroristes, une fois emprisonnés. Et cela, le film le montre très bien également. Nous, on avait encore la guillotine à cette époque, ils auraient dû nous les envoyer : on s'en serait occupés...

Enfin, c'est justement la fin qui nous préoccupe, car le film ne présente pas d'épilogue et se conclut abruptement, même si l'on est (quand même) fixé sur le sort de cette vermine. On aurait aimé une vraie conclusion mais vraisemblablement, le réalisateur n'a pas voulu s'engager dans quelque jugement ou réflexion que ce soit, sachant que le sujet est sensible et sujet à la polémique, y compris à notre époque présente au sein de laquelle les jeunes cocos "antifas" prennent de plus en plus d'importance.

Quoi qu'il en soit, voilà un film percutant et très intéressant qui ne manquera pas de faire réagir ni de révolter, mais dans le bon sens du terme : le terrorisme est une abomination et aucune "cause" n'est à même de le justifier.… Expand

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glomman

Mar 28, 2021

The Baader Meinhof Complex is a very strong political drama which portrays the activities of the first RAF terrorist group and its successors in West Germany in the 1970s. Being also a historical - and educational - movie, establishing a dramatic structure must have been very difficult forThe Baader Meinhof Complex is a very strong political drama which portrays the activities of the first RAF terrorist group and its successors in West Germany in the 1970s. Being also a historical - and educational - movie, establishing a dramatic structure must have been very difficult for the writers, because it feels like the story kinda fizzles out after the first 90 minutes or so, leading to a, in my opinion, abrupt and disappointing ending.
Still a very good and very important historical movie.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Marc

Aug 31, 2009

Well shot , and an interesting period of time, I watched this in the same weekend as Max Manus Man of war and Das Untergang all of which I found fascinating. However I never connected with any of the characters in this movie and as a result found myself willing it conclusion. Indeed a well Well shot , and an interesting period of time, I watched this in the same weekend as Max Manus Man of war and Das Untergang all of which I found fascinating. However I never connected with any of the characters in this movie and as a result found myself willing it conclusion. Indeed a well made piece of cinema just not a very interesting experience. Its been out on DVD for months in the Uk.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

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