The Edukators
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Movie Reviews of The Edukators
Movie Review: Present Meets Past
Summary: 4 Stars
It helps to know something about the 70's in both Germany and Ameruca and to speak German. This is a neat movie where some modern nihilist pranksters get into trouble by getting caught breaking into a house. The owner is a corporate bigshot and the young trio kidnap him. It turns out that he was a former hippie and started to enjoy the kidnapping. Je is taken from Berlin to the Bavarian Alps and adjust very well to his new situation. The young people do not know what to do with the man. Romantic changes are predictable, but well-done as is the conclusion.Movie Review: The Edukators
Summary: 4 Stars
The Edukators isn't just a film about some kids who get into trouble. It is a film that asks people to think about their values, what they value, and how all of that can be subject to change based on your own perspective. With out being too heavy handed this film offers a lot of entertaining moments that leaves you with the ability to relate to the characters or at least empathize with them.
It's a well paced film with a great plot. Good acting and a great cast.
A must see.
Movie Review: Interesting film
Summary: 4 Stars
Enjoyed the film. Even though I didn't agree with the ideology portrayed in the film. Loved watching an original German film in the region 1 format...Movie Review: A lack of statement
Summary: 3 Stars
Germany's modern cinema is vastly evolving into a completely independent cinematic class of excellence.From superb production, independent historic interpretation and direction values,as shown in Der Untergang, to humor,nostalgia and pathos in Goodbye Lenin. No longer lagging behind and blindly imitating U.S cinema,it is not astounding that one of this years Oscar contenders in the category foreign film is a German production, also starring the brilliant Julia Jentsch.The Edukators contains many of the ingredients that make modern German cinema a creative and commercial success, yet it also lags on other aspects.
The plot revolves around two best friends, who are completely and idealisticly dedicated to the improvement of the world and fight against social injustice,confident that they have identified the villain.They elaborate a complex scenario by which they break into the villas of the wealthy upper class,simply deranging the furniture and leaving behind notes such as "Your days of plenty are numbered".These two friends,Jan(Daniel Br?hl)and Peter(Stipe Erceg),having written an elaborate list of target villas and guilty people, have no qualms about giving themselves rhe title of revolutionaries and the absolute guilt of the people they target.The situation becomes more complex when Peter goes to Spain for a few days, leaving his girlfriend Jule(Julia Jentsch) behind with Jan. The two soon become close friends and it is just a matter of time before Jan reveals to her what he and Peter do on their nightly journeys. Jule reveals to him in return that she is deeply indebted and that she will loose many years of her life in hard work, due to a minor accident and a beurocratic mishap. By coincidence the person responsible for her deep financial crisis, Mr.Hardenberg (Burghart Klau?ner),is on their list.They break into his Villa and wreak havoc on the interior. Escaping the "crime scene" unscathed,their euphoria is soon given a halt, when Jule realizes that she forgot her mobile telephone. As they go back to search for it,the situation escalates dramatically as Mr.Hardenberg surprisingly returns.Their desperate situation only becomes worse as they pull Peter into it and find themselves forced to kidnap the wealthy Mr.Hardenberg.Hiding in the mountain cabin of Jules Uncle, they become better acquainted with the man. He surprises the friends by telling them that he also was once idealistic and a member of the student revolutionary movement, but the duties of life, like his career and family, surpassed his ideals.Mr.Hardenberg professes admiration for their youthful idealism and the growing trust between him and them slowly begins to untie the knots of the conflict. Complicating the issue is Jules and Jan's growing attraction to each other, which threatens to separate the friends and irrevocably escalate the situation.
Director Weing?rtner never manages to convince us that the revolutionary talk Jan and Peter sprout is more then just youthful babble. Their conviction of moral superiority often appears more self righteous then factual.They accuse Mr. Hardenberg of unfairly hoarding his money and not aiding the socially and economically disadvantaged,without even a hint of proof.It seems like their case of wanting to make revolution is not different from most revolutions, the revolutionaries rarely pass to think of what exactly they are revolting against.Though they are faced with the example of Mr.Hardenbergs level headed pragmatism and his nostalgia for gone bye ideals,there is very little self reflection of whether what they do is right or wrong, except for one scene in which Jan almost falters.It is also not very convincing why Mr. Hardenbergs sympathy would extend to actively supporting and collaborating in his kidnapping,which despite all good intentions is of course a crime.However,Director Weing?rtners does not leave any ambiguity as to which side he stands on.The final scene almost seems like an open call for serious vandalism.These weaknesses betray the movies self styled intellectualism. Has Jan's talk about social justice really convinced us so much so that we now openly consider international sabotage?
The film has all the good intentions and ingredients that make a classy movie, fine and dedicated actors, good camera work and a very ambitious director, yet never manages to make a clear and believable statement, nor to convince us as to who is right and who is wrong. The character development is insufficient and at the end everyone is back to where they started. The film promises more then it can offer, often taking itself far too seriously. The end result is nothing more and nothing less then a good film and hopefully a stepping stone for a talented and ambitious cast.
Movie Review: Worth watching...
Summary: 3 Stars
... but the political content was not what it could have been. The three main characters spout a great deal of idealistic talk and though they follow up a good cause with interesting action, it somehow still felt a bit empty. The characters and plot (though a bit slow) were interesting enough for me to overlook the flaws. It seems to be one of those that you end up liking more upon reflection rather than as you're watching it. If you're the type of person that watches a movie in slow motion just to look for flaws, this probably isn't your type of film. If you're looking to spend a couple of hours seeing something you haven't seen before, this is worth the $10.