The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008/MPI Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B     Extras: C+     Film: B

 

 

German Cinema today has more good films to offer an Uli Edel (who actually directed the Basic Instinct knock-off Body Of Evidence and indie favorite Last Exit To Brooklyn) has created an excellent politically-charged true-story drama as rich as Sophie Scholl (reviewed elsewhere on this site) in The Baader Meinhof Complex.  Taking place in West Germany circa 1967, a group of young activists form a very left wing terrorist organization to make sure the free side of Germany never becomes fascist again much like The Weather Underground did in the U.S. and this film is an excellent dramatic chronicle of those events.

 

Ironically known as the RAF, the Red Army Faction (versus the Royal Air Force) get started on a campaign to fight back against the government, but are not fans of capitalism or what they see as the immoral profiteering in Vietnam, so they get behind strikes, protests and other activities.  Then things promptly get worse and so do they, raising the stakes to things like kidnapping and assassination.  They survive into the 1970s, but they start to have their own personal interrelational issues.  Still, they turn out to be most formidable to the end.

 

I immediately thought of Alain Resnais’ The War Is Over (1966) which delves most deeply into such activities and Costa-Gavras’ Z (1969, reviewed elsewhere on this site) about a terrorist organization and government battling each other, both of which were written by Jorge Semprun and are the high watermark of such films.  Baader meets that mark, using a documentary approach, yet filling that with a narrative that becomes very engaging in telling the story not heard much outside of Germany.  Possibly Edel’s best film to date, it (and Sophie Scholl for that matter) are among what we hope is an exciting new wave of bold German films that are not getting the attention they deserve, especially in the U.S., where too many of the so-called critics (now more than ever) are raving about popcorn franchises instead of even seeing fine works like this.

 

I have to give the cast credit too.  Highly convincing and meshing extremely well, they include Martina Gedeck (The Lives Of Others), Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run, Munich), Tom Schilling, Bruno Ganz (Downfall, The Boys From Brazil), Joanna Wokalek (North Face) and others who may soon find serious careers.  The Baader Meinhof Complex is seriously good filmmaking for those serious about motion pictures and is highly recommended.

 

 

The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot in Super 35mm 3-perf for flat presentation and looks excellent throughout with very minimal motion blur.  Color is also impressive as is depth.  Director of Photography Rainer Klausmann (Downfall, The Invasion) creates yet another great-looking film and forwards the narrative with his visuals.  Very replayable, this is some impressive HD playback.

 

The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mix is also excellent with all the sound, dialogue and music (by Peter Hinderthur and Florian Tessloff) well recorded and mixed for a consistent soundfield throughout that is never harsh and always involving.  When combined with the great image, you can see how state-of-the-art German filmmaking can be.

 

Extras include seven featurettes on a second disc, which is a DVD: How The Film Came About, Interview with Author Stefan Aust, Interview with Writer/Producer Bernd Eichinger, The Actors on their Roles, Scoring Baader, On Authenticity and Behind The Scenes.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo