From the pov of someone only familiar with the names Baader-Meinhof and not at all informed about the group's intentions or the political context in which they worked, I found this film both fascinating and perplexing. Close to 2.5 hrs but the surprise is it could have done with being longer, the relentless action and frenetic changes of place and activity (as if the characters had been teleported from one country to another) having a dislocating effect.
Some have claimed the film is shot in the manner of a documentary because of an apparent neutrality of tone, but I think a documentary would have been better structured and more informative. For a non-German there are many moments where the behaviour of the characters or official bodies is totally alien and hard to explicate. As a dramatisation it lacks a satisfying structure, the ending abrupt and no afterword on the group's legacy. I agree with another contributor that the use of mainstream pop is a bit unimaginative, unless the point is to present Baader & co. as disaffected kids who nonetheless have a pop cultural sensibility - indeed, one could interpet their actions as simply an ultraviolent but juvenile act of rebellion against patriarchy. The constant changes of scene, pop music, swearing and smoking, scenes of public nakedness: all this seems designed to capture the perceived young audience with a tiny attention span. Not wanting to risk sobriety the film chooses instead sensationalism, perhaps deliberately bypassing a truly serious-minded portrait of what must be a divisive episode in German history.
The Baader-Meinhof Complex did succeed in making me curious to know more about these people and I'll be looking for a suitable book or documentary. For those looking for entertainment, the film certainly delivers startling violence and heated emotions and the group's actions are left open to interpretation, even if one ultimately longs for stronger characterisation and more time to process what's happening.
Some have claimed the film is shot in the manner of a documentary because of an apparent neutrality of tone, but I think a documentary would have been better structured and more informative. For a non-German there are many moments where the behaviour of the characters or official bodies is totally alien and hard to explicate. As a dramatisation it lacks a satisfying structure, the ending abrupt and no afterword on the group's legacy. I agree with another contributor that the use of mainstream pop is a bit unimaginative, unless the point is to present Baader & co. as disaffected kids who nonetheless have a pop cultural sensibility - indeed, one could interpet their actions as simply an ultraviolent but juvenile act of rebellion against patriarchy. The constant changes of scene, pop music, swearing and smoking, scenes of public nakedness: all this seems designed to capture the perceived young audience with a tiny attention span. Not wanting to risk sobriety the film chooses instead sensationalism, perhaps deliberately bypassing a truly serious-minded portrait of what must be a divisive episode in German history.
The Baader-Meinhof Complex did succeed in making me curious to know more about these people and I'll be looking for a suitable book or documentary. For those looking for entertainment, the film certainly delivers startling violence and heated emotions and the group's actions are left open to interpretation, even if one ultimately longs for stronger characterisation and more time to process what's happening.