The Edukators
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Movie Reviews of The Edukators
Movie Review: Exceptional Film
Summary: 5 Stars
The Edukators is an fantastic piece of cinema and I highly recommend viewing it. Rising talent Daniel Bruhl gives a great performance leading this wonderful cast. One of my favorite films.Movie Review: Excellent show
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent movie. It is a real life movie about the actual feelings of us average people, whethter here in the USA or in another country. Cant wait to watch it agian!Movie Review: Awesome Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great movie. Even if your not into subtitles. The speed of having it delivered was good also.Movie Review: An original form of protest
Summary: 4 Stars
The Edukators is a very interesting German film, directed by Hans Weingartner, about three young radicals whose ideals are put to the test. We at first observe them taking part in fairly commonplace demonstrations against global trade. These are people, however, who are determined to take things beyond the level of protest. Jan and Peter are friends who break into the homes of affluent people and, instead of stealing anything, simply rearrange the furniture and other items. They leave a calling card with the message, "Your days of plenty are numbered," and sign it "The Edukators." The premise is in itself fascinating and leads to some humorous scenes as well as provoking thought. The humor comes from seeing the absurd relocation of objects, such as putting a stereo in the refrigerator. This is, rather than conventional vandalism, a kind of performance art, meant to create uneasiness and self-examination on the part of the victims.
While Peter is out of town, his girlfriend Jule and Jan spend time together and become attracted to each other. After Jan introduces Jule to the Edukators' tactics, Jule convinces him to help her "visit" the home of a businessman to whom she owes a large sum of money following a car accident. The man catches them and they end up kidnapping him, bringing Peter into the action. The rest of the film follows the three friends as they decide what to do with their victim and debate politics with him. Some of these discussions are interesting, though they inevitably follow a predictable course ("you are a parasite living off the poor" vs. "I have a right to what I earned," to paraphrase). The businessman, however, moves from arguing with his captors to sympathizing with them, explaining that he was once a radical himself. Is this for real or merely a ploy to gain their trust? The romantic triangle further escalates the tension.
I liked the intellectual content of The Edukators; it reminds us of how few films today deal sympathetically with characters who are not only outside the system, but actively oppose it. Even better, the movie does not simply romanticize the radicals and demonize the businessman. It actually raises more questions than it answers, which is probably a good thing. It is not a perfect film; some of the situations seem a bit contrived (e.g. one of them is an expert at deactivating burglar alarms because he used to work for a security company). The ending is more of a clever punchline than a serious resolution of matters. Still, it is very engaging and well-acted and puts a new face on the old dilemma of participating in vs. fighting mainstream society.
Movie Review: Love, Friendship, and Anti-Capitalism (Plus One Kidnapping): Very Engaging German Drama
Summary: 4 Stars
A German film shot in hand-held digital camera would not be appealing to many of English-speaking people. Even though the film's star is handsome Daniel Bruhl ('Goodbye! Lenin' !Ladies in Lavender'). But 'Edukators' is very engaging drama about friendship, crime, and capitalism. Yes, I mean it.
You meet three Berliners -- Jan (Daniel Bruhl), Peter (Stipe Erceg) and Jule (Julia Jentsch). Jan and Peter are kind of rebels, who sneak into rich family's houses, and 'rearrange' the things there. They don't steal, nor break anything, they only leave a message, which roughly translated, 'Your Days Of Plenty Are Numbered.' (The film's tagline, and the meaning of the original German title too).
Jule, Peter's girlfriend, doesn't know their underground activity. But while Peter is out of the city, Jule comes to realize that Jan is more friendly, likable person than she thought before. And Jan, also being attracted to his best friend's girlfriend, finally reveals their secrets about breaking into the houses, only to find themselves, and Peter too, in a big trouble.
The second part is about that trouble, about which I only say the three move to a cabin among the mountains with a kidnapped rich company executive Hardenberg, who quite ironically turns out an ex-student activist himself. The ensuing dialogues between the kidnappers (or Edukators) and the kidnapped are immediate, but a little didactic, and the political matters dealt in there are too difficult and ciomplex to handle within the film's running time.
[STORY OF FRIENDSHIP] Thankfully, despite the overlength and occasional lull, 'Edukators' remains interesting throughout, for the main theme of the film is the ideal (of especially young people) about friendship. This film beautifully tells a story of innocense gradually affected, and it might remind you of European classic films like 'Jules and Jim.' To me, anyway, the ever-changing relations between Jim, Jule, and Peter are the best thing you can find in 'Edukators.'
'Edukators' is a kind of film that would get favorable reviews from critics, but disappears from the theatres before you know that there is such a film. Though I do not share the characters' views on capitalism (and it is obvious the director Hans Weingartner is sympathetic to them), I find the film pretty attarctive. As a study of the youth and friendship, it works most.