CibbuanoThe Wave (die Welle) @ The Festival of German Films
April 27th 2008 23:28
Last Saturday, I managed to get rare tickets for a sold-out screening of "The Wave (die Welle)" for the Festival of German Films. A few of our friends were unable to join us as the tickets sold like free flapjacks at a morning carnival - the Festival of German Films is one of the most popular film festivals in Sydney.
The popularity of the festival has deterred me in the past, but I was dragged along by a hungry group of Germans, eager to see "The Wave" as it was released just four weeks ago in Germany, and has already been seen by over 2 million viewers.
It's an unsettling topic, even more so for a German movie. "The Wave" is based on a novel, which, in turn, was based on real events: in 1967, a Californian history teacher did an experiment with his high school class, showing them how easy it is to manipulate people into forming a fascist state.
Unequivocally, the story is captivating. It has to be - after all, this really did happen.
The film uses the story to springboard some sentiments about contemporary German culture. The teacher, played wonderfully by Jurgen Vogel, uses some simple methods to plant the seeds of an 'autocratic' class. He uses discipline and separation to break the class out of its mold; the next day, all the students are dressed identically.
It seems simple, but the class becomes energized by the unification - unfortunately, the few students that rebel against the system are quickly ostracized and removed from the class.
Director Dennis Gansel has an easy time with the movie: the story is automatically enthralling, Vogel's onscreen charisma makes up for the uneven performances of the students, and he uses enough high energy music and fast editing to keep the audience's adrenaline pumping.
Strangely, I did not find the film to meet my expectations. Even though the screenplay is based on real events, the film throws so many characters into the story, stereotyping them quickly, that the pace feels rushed and synthetic.
Additionally, the movie appears to have a few scenes tacked on, which take away from the atmosphere and believability, choosing, instead, to ignore the chance to examine the motivation of the teacher.
Nevertheless, as part of a captive audience, I could feel the cumulative response of the people around me, Germans included. This is controversial material, exploring a deep cultural shame, but showing us, resoundingly, how easy it is for any group of people to bind together. As humans, we're social animals, mastering the planet by working together... it seems only natural that we should self-assemble together - and it's a truly terrifying idea.
I say: Definitely worth watching in the cinema. If the film gets a release in Australia, at least see it one time. The shock is worth it enough.
See it for: Gansel treads dangerous ground, making fascism look utterly delicious. I could feel myself responding to the idea of these students, from different backgrounds and races, forming together, protecting each other.
*this image is from Reuters
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