To grade a film like this, it is very helpful to try to classify what sort of film it is.
From a storytelling point of view, this film cannot hold up as a character study, because scenes that would really allow us to get into a character's head, are replaced by recreations of historical events.
By the standards of a drama, at least some of the characters are well drawn, but with a drama we would also expect to see opposing characters, at least if conflict is important to the story. There are plenty of nameless minions of the state in Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, but dramatic non-RAF characters are limited to say the least. We could say that the drama is limited to the people in the RAF, but if this is the case, then the interactions between RAF characters, while otherwise satisfactory for a different sort of film, are not adequate to justify this production.
If this film were a thriller, we would expect to see an interesting set of facts linked to one another in some revealing fashion, and we would expect to see some dramatic tension, an element that is generally lacking.
Ultimately, we are left with a historical film, and this raises the question of how well Der Baader Meinhof Komplex captures historical events. You cannot fault the film on thoroughness, as it seems to aim at detailing every significant action for a decade.
However, exactly what motivates the radicals/terrorists, and/or what exactly it is that they believe in, is either missing, or must be attributed to various character flaws (which are indeed exhaustively chronicled).
Such an assessment is of limited interest however, even to a right winger, or someone who wants to join GSG9, because the anti-terrorist and police forces are mostly nameless, and are commonly portrayed as somewhat brutal, lacking any particular agency or planning of their own. The one partial exception is an official who pops up regularly to emphasize that the various matters that the radicals are concerned about (for some reason, most of the mentioned issues involve other nations more than West Germany), are indeed important, in some ill defined fashion. One is tempted to believe that he is in the film only to demonstrate that the West German government was 'in touch' and suitably empathetic to 1970's leftist concerns.
Ultimately then, this film seems set on elaborating a particular historical judgment of 1970's Germany, and of Baader and Meinhof in particular. This critical assessment may be altogether correct, or not, as the case may be, but not even one side of the story is really told, never mind both.
The storytelling value of this historical judgment is rather limited, and the resulting film is fairly boring, albeit stripped of serious intellectual content by flash-powder and gory special effects. The film seems to be aimed at leftists, and aimed at deflating any romantic notions about the RAF. Although I suppose non-leftists might take comfort in this unflattering portrayal, the film is otherwise of little entertainment value, and rather annoyingly, its educational value is impeded by not only a lack of motive, but also a lack of clarity regarding the identity of the characters.
From a storytelling point of view, this film cannot hold up as a character study, because scenes that would really allow us to get into a character's head, are replaced by recreations of historical events.
By the standards of a drama, at least some of the characters are well drawn, but with a drama we would also expect to see opposing characters, at least if conflict is important to the story. There are plenty of nameless minions of the state in Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, but dramatic non-RAF characters are limited to say the least. We could say that the drama is limited to the people in the RAF, but if this is the case, then the interactions between RAF characters, while otherwise satisfactory for a different sort of film, are not adequate to justify this production.
If this film were a thriller, we would expect to see an interesting set of facts linked to one another in some revealing fashion, and we would expect to see some dramatic tension, an element that is generally lacking.
Ultimately, we are left with a historical film, and this raises the question of how well Der Baader Meinhof Komplex captures historical events. You cannot fault the film on thoroughness, as it seems to aim at detailing every significant action for a decade.
However, exactly what motivates the radicals/terrorists, and/or what exactly it is that they believe in, is either missing, or must be attributed to various character flaws (which are indeed exhaustively chronicled).
Such an assessment is of limited interest however, even to a right winger, or someone who wants to join GSG9, because the anti-terrorist and police forces are mostly nameless, and are commonly portrayed as somewhat brutal, lacking any particular agency or planning of their own. The one partial exception is an official who pops up regularly to emphasize that the various matters that the radicals are concerned about (for some reason, most of the mentioned issues involve other nations more than West Germany), are indeed important, in some ill defined fashion. One is tempted to believe that he is in the film only to demonstrate that the West German government was 'in touch' and suitably empathetic to 1970's leftist concerns.
Ultimately then, this film seems set on elaborating a particular historical judgment of 1970's Germany, and of Baader and Meinhof in particular. This critical assessment may be altogether correct, or not, as the case may be, but not even one side of the story is really told, never mind both.
The storytelling value of this historical judgment is rather limited, and the resulting film is fairly boring, albeit stripped of serious intellectual content by flash-powder and gory special effects. The film seems to be aimed at leftists, and aimed at deflating any romantic notions about the RAF. Although I suppose non-leftists might take comfort in this unflattering portrayal, the film is otherwise of little entertainment value, and rather annoyingly, its educational value is impeded by not only a lack of motive, but also a lack of clarity regarding the identity of the characters.