ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

THE BEST of modern German cinema has explored the dramatic possibilities of a nation coming to terms with its past. The Lives Of Others and Downfall have been award-winning international success stories. The Baader Meinhof Complex continues that tradition by capturing the inner workings of the left-wing terrorist group the Red Army Faction. It offers an ambitious history lesson that is as exciting and action-packed as any fictional thriller.

Capturing key moments in the decade from 1967 to 1977, the film conveys a flavour of the personalities at the heart of the terrorist movement. Ulrike Meinhof was a journalist who wrote extensively about state oppression and the privileged elite of a resurgent West Germany. Martina Gedeck plays her as a shrewd observer of events who seemed to surprise herself as she moved towards direct action, sacrificing all that she held dear in the process.

Andreas Baader (Moritz Bliebtreu) is depicted as a cocky, aggressive leader who acknowledged nobody’s rules but his own and gradually escalated his actions from petty bank robberies to outright class warfare.

The Baader Meinhof Complex is fast-paced and absorbing, charting the way lofty ideals became corrupted and innocent civilians were regarded as mere cannon fodder in the greater ideological struggle. It is a chilling reminder of events that are within living memory for many viewers.

Even after two and half hours it is almost impossible to say exactly what the Red Army Faction were trying to achieve beyond bringing revolution to the streets of West Germany but that doesn’t diminish the impact of this impressive, engrossing epic.

Selected nationwide release

Director: Uli Edel
Cast: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz, Hannah Herzsprung
Screenwriters: Bernd Eichinger, Uli Edel based on the book by Stefan Aust
Certificate: 18
Running time: 149 mins
Country: Germany
Year: 2008