I watched the tv version which was too rushed in the second part, especially if you are not familiar with the historic events and persons. Apart from that it's well acted and well done. Very interesting.

78.250

Brilliantly done. The political views and radical actions of the RAF are fairly and carefully portrayed, it's very well shot, and the acting is superb, especially Martina Gedeck's portrayal of Ulrike Meinhof. The second half of the movie is a bit of a mess though, clearly the time constraints bit them in the ass.

I was surprised at the scope of this bleak look at left-wing extremists and the way in which their actions only serve to start an unending cycle of violence. The acting was great, though the motivations of some of the characters aren't clear. Because there is so much to tell, some events seem glossed over or aren't explored fully, but that's a minor gripe. The film in total is a gripping, chilling and at times uncomfortable political thriller that shone a light on a subject I knew little of.

This movie has a very strong story line and has been acted, directed well. It tries portray the facts as opposed to making either side a hero or a villain. It tries to present the facts in the form of a movie rather than as a documentary. A must watch for one and all.

With an admirable span and scope, the film is incredibly thorough, but there's so much ground to cover as the group rises from humble beginnings to increasingly desperate acts of domestic terrorism that containing it all with the frames of a movie starts to seen nearly impossible. It's helped immeasurably by nice performances that go a long way towards bringing the people, and by extension the era, to life. In the end, though, the film is just skating on the surface of history.

Crammed w/ so much story it's easy2 think it all might have been better served by a doc/mini-series as the last quarter feels like it's racing 2 check off bullet points. Unfortunately this format doesn't shed much light on radical extremists who r as obnoxiously self-righteous at the end as they r at the beginning. This is esp. disappointing in Meinhof's case since any apparently sane woman who leaves her young children behind 2 blow up buildings surely calls 4 much more insight than we get here

A very fascinating film that manages to make sense of how middle-class students and intellectuals in a democratic welfare state sacrificed their safety, families and careers to become murderous terrorists. Also shows how far-left terrorism paradoxically emerged out of the peace-loving sixties youth movement but morphed into organized crime in the seventies. Humanizes the founders of RAF without trivializing their crimes. Fails to demystify the second generation of RAF.

A strong start but the pace drops off a cliff in the second half, during which the film meanders into painfully boring mediocrity.

Yeah, it's a nice recreation, presenting a complex political yada yada, but like many Based On A True Story films that sticks too closely to the real story it just ends up overlong and plotless.

The movie really had trouble pacing itself, the entire story of the RAF seemed kinda rushed through, giving no actual deeper thoughts or clashing views of what the RAF actually were. The movie seemed pretty determined to establish them as freedom fighters. In my opinion though, this could have been a lot better if they had let the decision be up to the viewer. Also they should have cut down the very lengthy potrail of the RAF members' prison time. It really just seemed abundant.

Somewhat bizarre that some viewers of the film, including here on criticker, took it to be a romanticization of history. Baader is portrayed as a misogynistic idiot and most of the rest of the group similarly out of their depth. The best punishment for an intellectual like Meinhof was simply to be left alone with the rest of the RAF leadership for an extended period of time. Also nice to see Ganz as the sympathetic, anti-Hitler authority figure antagonist.

Too restless and chaotic for my taste. Would have been much better off focusing strictly on the first generation of RAF.

Produces a brief but insightful look at the era from the view of the left. It doesn't attempt to make heroes of the RAF nor make villains of them, instead it shows the characters personal faults but they are still somewhat likable. It's successful in displaying the motivations of the RAF and their 'struggle'. For those who have seen Downfall there is certainly a similar sense of realism. Overall it deserves praise for Its originality in displaying the era.

Good Movie

Conversations between RAF members consist of random Marxist quotes you can find on t-shirts. Although it seriously lacks the deeper insight into ideologies and reasons it is a good starting point to get familiar with the history, because with a runtime of almost 3 hours it presents all basic facts. Good directing is cinematography makes it a good political thriller, but given the real nature of the subject, more power and insight and left to be desired.

I found it very long and a bit tedious. I dunno, maybe I just don't have a real reference point about radicalism in Germany in the 70ies. Hmm. It started out okay, but then it all grew kinda old and I found myself wondering why I should care. It was well acted and made and all that, just didn't find it relevant. Maybe if I'd been German.

It may be lingering a bit too heavy on the leftist side of the story, but still an excellent look into the minds of the "terrorists".

Really good. Its approach was refreshingly realistic, at times exposing the RAF's naïveté and chaotic improvidence while at others acknowledging the political nature of their struggle, however misguided it was. The film's acknowledgement, particularly through the conflicted BKA director Horst Herold (Bruno Ganz), of the RAF's unshakeable political motivation was a refreshing change from either the cloying sentimentality or inflexible moralization of so many films that tackle this subject matter.

Ich kann nur sagen wow... das war eines der intensivsten kinoerlebnisse die ich je hatte. durch die kamere fühlt man sich in manchen momenten wie als ob man selber vor der waffe steht und nur darauf wartet sich ne kugel zu fangen. wirklich intensiv und absolut gut geschauspielert. wenn man sich für die thematik interessiert führt kein weg an dem film vorbei.nach das leben der anderen ein weiterer film der internationalen ruhm verdient hätte meiner meinung.