Sex and guns and rock & roll

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex

Crit

We (and by "we" I mean we who lean left to begin with) are sympathetic to the late-1960s ambitions of the Red Army Faction from the opening minutes, when West Berlin police stand back as plainclothes Savak agents attack student protesters, then actually join in with deadly force. Still, the film's agenda seems mostly restricted to history and psychology: the RAF is filled with doctrinaire Marxists, but when Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu, looking a little Gael García Bernal) says "Fucking is the same as shooting," he's not altogether serious, but he's not altogether kidding, either. Driving fast and recklessly is the same, too, for members of the group as devoted to danger as to the international struggle of the people.

The narrative is strictly chronological, and as some members are killed or locked up (or kill themselves while locked up), we meet subsequent generations of true and semitrue believers. As that happens, and as current actions are credited to dead comrades, it starts to become clear that revolution is the same as religion: resurrection serves insurrection.

A word about the soundtrack: listen very closely to the Beatles' "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and the Who's "My Generation," then pay attention to the music end credits: are those the best soundalike bands you've ever heard or what? At least "Blowin' in the Wind" is really Dylan.