The Wave (2008)
A high school teacher's unusual experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit with a life of its own. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Dennis Gansel
Written By: Dennis Gansel, Todd Strasser
Starring: Jürgen Vogel, Frederick Lau, Elyas M'Barek, Christiane Paul, Max Riemelt, Jennifer Ulrich
Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller
AKA: Die Welle
Country: Germany
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The Wave belongs to 20 collections
1. Based on a Book (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 24 stars)
2. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 12 stars)
3. Kosmorama International Film Festival 2009 (collaborative: moderated by cagedwisdom)
4. Teaching (collaborative: moderated by djross - 1 star)
5. Suicide (collaborative: moderated by mpowell - 9 stars)
6. Netflix Instant (collaborative: moderated by somnivore - 29 stars)
7. Foreign - German (public: NhanLa)
8. The Lost Picture Show Podcast (collaborative: moderated by Coheed - 2 stars)
9. IcanRemOs (public: cajerio)
10. mwgerb's Netflix Instant Queue (public: mwgerb - 2 stars)
11. Movie Night (public: cesargm - 3 stars)
12. Mubi Europe (collaborative: moderated by Svengali)
13. Peliculas que tengo (public: escarta)
14. Social Experiment (collaborative: moderated by Veterini - 2 stars)
15. Films I watched in 2010 (public: jal90)
16. film puanlamalarım (collaborative - 1 star)
17. 2: High Priority (Not in English) (public: KasperL)
18. Top 2000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 2 stars)
19. Top 3000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 5 stars)
20. February 2023 (public: Parham12Iraj)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 4 |  |
bof | 61 43rd |
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The problem with Die Welle isn't the idea that fascism works and how easy it is to sell a large group of people on it. That bit is creepily well-done, and changing the setting from the US to Germany doesn't hurt. But the director could have spent 10 minutes setting up the perceived problems of the society and the lives that people live before they all start dressing in white and marching in step. As it is, it seems like everyone's just waiting for the signal to start behaving like nazis.
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| 3 |  |
mwgerb | 49 42nd |
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Good on a conceptual level; the idea of humanity's tendency towards group conformity is definitely worth exploring. That being said, I think the realism was lost somewhere in the middle of the movie; it started to come off as predictable, artificial, exaggerated, and contrived. It works well enough to start a discussion, but it's not convincing enough to capture any real emotional power.
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| 2 |  |
chemical404 | 65 71st |
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Much like other German film "Das Experiment" this film deals with human conformity to authority given the right circumstances. I find human behavior/social experiments fascinating subject, so I was really interested in this film. Directing is energetic and enjoyable. Acting is decent with some exceptions from the young actors. Main problem with "The Wave" is that it demonstrates rather than explores. And the story feels over exaggerated, especially the ending.
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| 2 |  |
lupister | 18 18th |
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A pretty silly movie with a "lesson of the week". Seems like it was made for 2nd graders.
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| 2 |  |
Zen Lunatic | 6 20th |
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A very interesting concept that takes a boring and predictable route.
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| 1 |  |
CitizenX | 75 86th |
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of course the "change" to radicalism isnt something that happens with one speech, but you cant make the movie 10h long, for sure an amazing film besides that and an excellent work by Jürgen Vogel
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| 1 |  |
tathiel | 79 60th |
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Since I knew the book and the original movie, there was nothing really for me in it. But it was interesting how they managed it to not just make another copy, but instead provide a clever update. Therefore, I can only advise to give it a try.
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| 1 |  |
NathanDarko | 91 85th |
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Grossartiger Film, nicht annähernd so gut wie das Buch aber eine interessante Verfilmung ,mit einem bestens aufgelegten Jürgen Vogel.
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| 1 |  |
tinysausage | 57 10th |
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Stylish and energetic allegory on the rise of fascism that has a great first act but then fell apart badly for me. The premise is too on the nose, and the accelerated timeframe of one week, in which the students go from amiable pot-smoking liberals to stormtroopers is utterly ludicrous.
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| 1 |  |
Herzdame | 74 69th |
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The German remake is remarkably superior to the American original, and attempts to crystallize the view how the stifling power of mere words form an incontestable ideology, a whole concept able to create the dangerous "culture of the mass" and division amongst people. Frightening to think how easily people can fall into the cold arms of totalitarianism and the seductive, siren call of Gemeinschaft with such blind easiness - human nature bared - ready to repeat the mistakes of the past.
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| 1 |  |
Sunset | 95 78th |
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Well, we can make one alusion with Dead Poets Society; is exactly the opposite extreme
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| 1 |  |
disconnected | 31 4th |
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The interesting premise ends up offering almost nothing but quasi-insight and the movie as a whole is largely undone by its many contrivances. It's too conventional to say anything of value of about the way people are or the human experience.
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| Average Percentile 59.94% from 1641 Ratings |  |