The Baader Meinhof Complex Movie Trailer

Posted on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson

The underlying message in this enticing teaser trailer for The Baader Meinhof Complex seems to be that young idealists who cross the chasm into full-blown terrorism are undeniably sexy. So, rest assured that many German critics feel the film doesn’t glorify sexy terrorism. Moreover, they have selected the movie for Best Foreign Film consideration in this year’s Oscar race.

In what is being reported as a comeback of sorts for German director, Uli Edel (the grim Christiane F., Madonna’s Body of Evidence), his feature film explores the early years of the region’s Red Army Faction, a group of young, far-Left protesters turned “guerillas” who wore sunglasses and organized bombings, bank robberies and kidnappings in the ’70s. Their acts resulted in many civilian casualties and a still-controversial (romanticized?) place in history that zig-zags into current global politics.

The cast has been noted as a “who’s who” line-up that includes Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run, Speed Racer), Martina Gedeck (The Good Shepherd), Bruno Ganz (Youth Without Youth), and Alexandra Maria Lara (Control, Miracle at St. Anna). The film is currently without a U.S. distributor (hopefully not for too much longer given the buzz), and there’s a “why haven’t I seen it” critic controversy nicely explained over at Hollywood Elsewhere, with further embargo-tales offered at GreenCine. I already have a random and unwarranted crush on this movie.

Full Length Trailer

Teaser Trailer

Discuss: If you are well-informed on the source material or the book this was adapted from, please chime in below. Is the teaser trailer enough to dis/interest you?

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  • Christopher Marc
    looks amazing I love European thriller/action films, Germany is becoming one of the better countries producing these types of films...I used to think France was the best...but after Antibodies and Lives of Others...I think Germany is at last becoming a great country of film again
  • Christopher Marc
    you can download the "full" trailer at the film's website
  • ThE
    Hi,

    I'm from Germany and I think this movie is far beyond the sexiness of sunglasses and should not be treated light hearted (I don't know if that's the right phrase - after all, I'm from Germany ;) )

    It's important because it's about the so called "68 Generation", a generation, that influences german politics until today and I hope that movie won't attempt to glorify the 68's and their believes. That it will show, how good intents can lead to one's self-destruction.

    I'm glad that you feature this movie on your frontpage and I hope, that it has the same impact as Downfall had.

    Greetings from Germany,
    ThE
  • Hunter Stephenson
    @ christopher marc

    Yeah. Hopefully this becomes available with subtitles. If anyone wants to view the full-length...

    http://www.bmk.film.de/
  • Candelario Rickbury
    It looks really good. Plus, Can's "Halleluhwah" will make anything look great.
  • Christopher Marc
    @Hunter

    yeah me too, although I don't find it too hard follow...."Flammen & Citronen" is another film to watch out for....
  • Hunter Stephenson
    @ Candelario

    Yes yes!
  • kiwi
    Well I hope this isn't marketed as a thriller, because I feel that would be misleading. As thrilling as bits of it were, this is more similar to Spielberg's Munich, in that it really happened, etc. The resemblances of the cast to those mugshots were uncanny adn this really is a who's who of German talent, as Peter said. I'll definitely see it, there is some great work coming out of German, but I hope that in the end it shows teh destruction they caused along with the glamour, since, as our German reader noted, the aftereffects of the work of these terrorists can still be felt in the world today.
  • Dan Berry
    I'm am flippin my shit here. How have I not heard of this. I need to! It looks awesome.
  • Dave
    This looks rad. Were they the German version of The weather Underground?
  • Neil
    I wonder how they will portray our present day terrorist 20-30 years from now. I remember being quite disgusted with all these groups back then. It reminds me of today where every community has its local wannabe El Caida TERRORIST!!!!! It seemed back then that every western country had its version of the Baider Meinhoff dopes. I remember even here in Canada we had the FLQ. What pathetic times then and now.
  • Mark
    This will be the German submission for "Best Foreign Film" at the Academy Awards next year and it looks really great so far.
  • hanne
    Here's an interview with the german actress Martina Gedeck in a german personality magazine called Park Avenue:
    Martina Gedeck
  • kosmonaut
    For American audiences, you really can't understand how big this topic is, still today, in Germany. Not to compare them facilely, the RAF is still a very raw theme there, so the comparison is probably more to something like how Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" was to US audiences. A complex issue that will be very, very difficult to handle well in a conventional film. We'll see.
  • I just saw this film in Santa Monica, California last night as part of a German films event sponsored in part by the Goethe Institute and also BMW, whose initials are sometimes sarcastically deciphered to mean Baader-Meinhof Wagen. Anyway, anyone who's afraid that the subject is glamorized shouldn't worry. It starts out with idealism and a certain degree of righteous anger and then it descends into a very dark and almost obsessive pursuit of an agenda based more on the group's survival and acts of revenge than any thought out plan to achieve an end. As the child of a German mother who lived through WW II, my perspective and interest is more open. I lived in Kiel in 1977-78 and remember seeing graffiti and RAF slogans around town and in Hamburg, but was too young to know what it was about. Homegrown terrorism is not talked about much in the U.S. because the mainstream doesn't want to admit there's anything wrong with our society or the way our government does "business" around the world. The SDS, SLA and Weather Underground are just a few examples of student-based movements that tried to make a point and generally just drove themselves into defeat. The Baader Meinhof Complex is a very important film and still has a potent message for a society that generally thinks terrorists want to destroy "our way of life." You have to ask yourself where the destruction started.
  • I'm a Brazilian living here in Berlin and I just watched the movie and I can say that is GREAT. Ok, my German is not that good yet but I previously knew the story and the movie is really into to it. Does not glorify terrorism neither os a propaganda against. Show how brutal and how engaged people were in the cause. With an amazing cast, it's a good bet for Foreign Film Oscar. I'm writting a full review (in Portuguese) at Movieblog.com.br.

    Cheers,
    Erick
  • Erik Holznienkemper
    As an American-German, currently living in Germany, I can confirm what the last two commented on.

    The film is fantastic, and does not in any way glamourise terrorism. What it does is show it in its full brutality. I'm something of a film freak, and am not too effected by violence on the screen, but there were moments during this film when I had to cringe, seeing how innocent bystanders were sacrificed as collateral damage for a "greater cause".

    OK, I'll admit there is a bit of Hollywood-style violence, but let's face it, in a jaded society like ours, you need something to catch peoples' attantion.

    Living in Germany from 1992-2000 and now again for the last year, I can confirm that the RAF is still often viewed as a "cool" thing to identify with, because it is anti-establishment. I'm glad there's now a film which shows how brutal and senseless such actions are.
  • RAB
    I followed the 'antics' of the Baader Meinhoff RAF closely in the media as a child..and then eventually ended up living in Munich /Berlin 1990-97.I havent seen the film yet but hopefully will.If you can get to see Black Box Germany doco this puts a more human face on both sides of the story..the shooting by the GSG9 police of Wolfgang Gramms outside of Berlin 93 /94 and the assasination of the Deutsches banker by the RAF.It was a war of idealism..so both sides have to brought into question.The RAF used the cover of the Wall and had active support by the DDR.The above article states many civilian casualties..enlighten me about that because uniforms or chauffers were 'legitimate' targets due to their support for the establishment that he RAF fought against.When they bombed the chief of Siemens in Munich my flatmates heard the blast from the house...
  • jim morrish
    can't wait for this movie!!!!!!!! I've read the 'baader-meinhif gang' and 'hitler's children' and numerous other piece sin Vague etc over the years and have long been fascinated by that period in history
  • Denis Hysenbelli
    Hi everyone,
    I saw the movie and loved it, thumbs up!! I thought that its a meaningful, realistic, great acting, well directed, good plot and great action movie. I haven't been a great admire of German cinema, but after watching the Bunker, Life of others and now this makes me realise that German cinematography is a powerful one and it has shown its efficiency in portraying important historical events at such great effect.
    Hope they'll carry on like this.

    I highly recommend it.
  • Sara
    actually, i'd say the weather underground was the american version of the baader meinhof group.
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