The Baader Meinhof Complex

Despite being rather political and incredibly slow, this film is perfectly polished and, above all, very important. (18/04/2009)

A non-negotiable reconstruction that keeps the right distance the whole time, while dragging the viewer through a whirlwind of perfect action (the question remains whether it is possible to consider a film like this in such a way) and a glimpse into the souls of the people who founded a new form of modern warfare. The Germans are healing their historical pain through films and it's working out exceedingly well. They can be envied far and wide. (15/04/2009)

A famously filmed and intellectually extraordinary serious drama which, from my point of view, sometimes falls a little short due to the excessive effort to ask all the questions at once. The bold solution of letting the viewer penetrate the very source of terrorism and listen to the opinions of the "bad guys" in the conventional sense is excellent, but it is unable to avoid the penetration of Bolshevik phrases into the very thought structure of the film. It is not as annoying as Soderbergh's Che, and the people from Uli Edel's film remain mostly people, not myths from red posters. Given the breadth of the issues raised by The Baader Meinhof Complex, occasional washing and confusion is to be expected. In the end, the feeling of a really successful and provocative film prevails, which tries to also see things from the other side - the RAF. And to question whether everything bad in this world can be blamed only on those crazy activist minds... I give it a weaker five stars. P.S. The main melody is really ballbusting, I haven't heard anything this good in a long time. (03/04/2009)

Recently I admire Germans for being the best at knowing exactly what contemporary cinema lacks the most. Their art of wresting with dark blots on their past in a way that works both purely on a cinematic level and more or less as an unbiased “coming to terms with the past". First was Good Bye Lenin!, Downfall, then The Lives of Others, in a way too The Wave and now The Baader Meinhof Complex which has one very important plus - it is clearly the best of all those I listed. And so much so that I didn’t even mind how late it was streamed on FebioFest. At least I used the night out in Prague for something else than returning home from the pub or from the airport. Just a shame about the striking drop in pace in the second half. Thanks to the chronological storytelling, it is completely logical, but I would still have welcomed a flashback here or there to liven things up from the verbal grayness (not to be confused with boredom!) during the trial. P.S.: And if somebody took the Mašin brothers’ story on, like Edel did with the RAF, that would be something worth seeing... (28/03/2009)

A large community of film fans is currently discussing whether the film event of this year will be Slumdog Millionaire or Gran Torino, or which other film could shake up their position. As of yesterday, I have a different candidate for the best film of the year, and it is The Baader Meinhof Complex. This fateful drama was not written by a screenwriter with a great dose of imagination and it was not directed by a filmmaker trying to achieve commercial success. This story was written by history, and the filmmakers simply transferred it to the screen with the highest level of erudition possible. The Baader Meinhof Complex has top-notch craftsmanship with its camera work, editing, music, and performances. I can't find any reason to criticize it. The film tries to look at the issue of leftist terrorism objectively from a distance and attempts to map out its roots. Among the actors, Moritz Bleibtreu stands out, who, despite his age, is an experienced acting veteran, and among the female roles, Johanna Wokalek shines in the role of the terrorist Ensslin. She managed to create a perfect study of the transformation of a character from an idealistic young activist to a cold-blooded, cynical fanatic capable of destroying anyone she considers an obstacle to her plans, overshadowing even the character of Meinhof, who was an icon of the radically leftist movement at the time. I think we will hear more about this talented German actress. Despite its long duration, I was not bored for even a moment and the film flew by incredibly quickly. This is not a popcorn action film, but an exceedingly realistic action drama, and one of the essential films of our time. Overall impression: 100%. (30/04/2009)

The debilitating reporting is just not debilitating enough, which makes the film suffer from heavy bombast. On the other hand, there's probably no better way to film such a sweeping subject for an audience. (20/12/2010)