Baader

I was at an advantage and disadvantage in watching BAADER. My advantage was that I know relatively little about the Baader-Meinhof Gang or Red Army Faction (RAF). I believe this allowed me to view the film more objectively. As a fictionalized representation of the RAF, I figured I could see how well BAADER worked as a film. My disadvantage was that, well, I know relatively little about the RAF, so would be unable to figure out just how much liberty the filmmakers took with the real events. Ultimately, I'm not sure it mattered that much as BAADER falls rather flat as an accurate representation or inaccurate representation.

I found it hard to feel any real connection to the characters. And, by connection, I mean I didn't feel any great animosity towards the RAF or any sympathy. To feel so dispassionate about a group of revolutionaries/terrorists, is a failing in both the writing and directing.

Andreas Baader, as portrayed in BAADER, is supposed to bring an understanding to what brought these people together under his leadership to commit the acts they committed. However, I don't get any sense of why the other members of the RAF were drawn to him or even to the cause. Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't have a problem with Frank Giering being cast in the role. Giering seems capable and competent, it's the script that lacks dimension.

For most of the film, the characterization of Baader is nothing more then political rants and raves. It's possible that Baader was similar to this in real life, however, in the film it got old quickly. I wanted more insight into who this man was, and if not him, then more insight into the RAF as an organization. We don't get either in BAADER. The film doesn't give us enough insight into Andreas Baader and it never gives us much information about Ulrike Meinhof or the other members.

My impression is that the filmmakers wanted to romanticize the Baader Meinhof gang as a group of sincere idealists. It's brought out that the RAF didn't, at first, want to harm anyone. At least, that is what we hear through one of Andreas Baader's rants. Also, there is an attempt to draw almost a father and son type connection between Kurt Krone who is the federal policeman in charge of capturing Baader and destroying the gang, and Andreas Baader. There is a meeting between the two towards the end of the film and, inexplicably the film shows Krone's sympathy for Baader. Krone, at one point, says that the RAF almost managed to change society. My question is, change it to what, exactly? From watching BAADER, I have no idea, so therefore, one way or the other; I see no sense of urgency to the group and the film, in general. This is unfortunate, since the RAF was a big part of German consciousness during their reign of terror. And I certainly could have done without the fictionalized ending. Andreas Baader dies in a highly romantic way reminiscent of the American film BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. I have since found out that, Andreas died in a much less dramatic and romantic fashion.

If the film had been centered on Kurt Krone, the more interesting character in my opinion, BAADER would have worked much better. Krone's orchestration of the federal police and his ability to second-guess Baader, was fascinating. Again, I'm unclear how much of his character was fictionalized, but I much preferred the film when it focused on his character.

In the end, BAADER is neither a real life account of the RAF in the 70s nor an engaging fictionalized vision of how Andreas Baader and the group might have operated. If you have any interest in radical groups of this time period, it might be worth a look, keeping in mind the historical inaccuracies, otherwise there's not much to recommend.

The movie reminds one of a theater play gone wrong, from the awkward choice for the cast (the blonde/blue eyed, chubby Frank Gehring not only looked nothing like the skinny, dark haired Andreas Baader, but his play could not make up for the 'cognitive dissonance' one felt who knows/remembers original footage), to the historical 'facts' that were, quite frankly, badly researched (therefore wrong) and made misleading allusions to other parts of German political and time history. Originally, Baader's 'liberation' by Meinhof in 1970 took place at the Deutsches Zentralinstitut für soziale Fragen (German Central Institute for Social Questions) in Berlin. In the movie however, the sign on the door of the building Baader and Meinhof were led into reads 'Institut für Sozialforschung'(Institute for Social Research). The IfS is not only in Frankfurt (not in Berlin), but also directly connected to the Frankfurt School or Critical Theory of most prominently T.W. Adorno who were Marxist philosophers, very influential in the 1968 movement, but also radically critical of the RAF. That info given is therefore not only misleading, but drawing historically inaccurate and distorting connections. Another MASSIVE problem was the heavy Berlin accent Baader (Gehring) put on: Baader was born and raised in Munich and could for the life of him not master a Berlin dialect. Historical inaccuracy need not always taint the pleasure of a movie, but in the history of the RAF, itself a 'fetishized'and mythologized object, it did. That the movie depicted the members of the RAF as somewhat 'de-politicized', bored kids who simply wanted to have some thrill in their lives, was another problem, and itself also historically inaccurate, regarding the POLITICAL mission they considered themselves to be on and the many writings Meinhof and others published during their lifetimes (which are never mentioned in the movie). Not historically inaccurate, but very unlikely is the soundtrack. In the movie, the RAF members allegedly listened to Can. Everyone with a little knowledge of the German Krautrock scene and its aesthetic will find that connection unfortunate. Also the confined abilities of the actors (the late Gehring was usually great, but this role must have overwhelmed him) and the failure of the screenplay to deliver moments of suspense or drama contributed to its weakness.

This film was exciting to me because it has a lot of ingredients I like.

First, there is that 70ies feeling throughout. It is created by the 70ies scenery, cars of that time, music of that time, haircuts, cloths, even the colors are kind of 70ies wash-out.

The carnival scenes remind me of "Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum", which plays in Cologne, just like the band Can featuring two of the songs (Swim Swan Song and Spoon).

The film is dense, relaxed but still full of tension. You see what an asshole Baader is, but still you may develop some positive feelings for him.

Its like a mixture of a "Tatort" and a Fassbinder, almost if Fassbinder had created a "Tatort".

The film is a complete demystification of the RAF. The RAF had been given the role of a dangerous threat to Germany, but is shown as a gang of weak persons full of admiration for Andreas Baader, following his commands. Reasons are given why the RAF was given that role (in the media) and that the real threat wouldn't be the Baader-Meinhoff gang but those who are supposed to protect Germany from them.

What has puzzled me was the apparent departure from the observed historical truth, in particular in the end. Maybe this was thought as a provocation, to remind you that you cannot rely on being told the truth.

A beautifully filmed and excellently played film that conveys in the first half a lot about the life, the thinking, the hopes, and the dreams of those who later became known as the terrorists of the RAF. I like the ironic approach of both script and direction towards these people who thought about themselves as revolutionaries when they were still only a group of bourgeois youngsters looking for their way. The characters were excellently drawn and the dynamics inside the group - especially the psychological pressure put on the others by Andreas Baader - were well conveyed.

The film has some important flaws though, especially concerning the script and the plotline.

I did not understand for example why the storyline had to stray away in the second half from the historical events to a mythical depiction - like in the 'heroic' ending or in the obviously fictitious meeting between police chief Krone and Baader in the night on the road.

But the major flaw of this film is for me that it never addressed all the murders and abductions the RAF conducted, it never put forward that very moment when they really became a lot of unscrupulous terrorists from a bunch of disoriented young people dreaming about the revolution.

All in all a watchable, well made biopic that still leaves a bad taste in the mouth as it abandons at times an exact depiction of historical events to myths and fairy tales.

As far as I knew Baader-Meinhof was some sort of a anarchist group of early 70s. I still think it is like that because the movie did not give me any other information about them. Were they Marxist? If so, were they Maoist, Leninist or else? Well of course, this is not the intention of the movie. The intention is to create a cult around the personality of Baader. Of course The Americans have their bandit heroes like Jessie james, so the Germans had Baader! Baader is also represented as a Steve Mac Queen type of macho guy... But there was ONE MAJOR PROBLEM for the director: Ulrike Meinhof! What are you gonna do with her? After all the gang is named "Baader-Meinhof" and not Baader...So the solution is there: Ignore Ulrike as much as possible. Reduce her to the status of a silly woman who forgets the money bag she steals. And at the end she just disappears like that! And as far as other female figures are concerned, you just show them as weak, cheeky girls who joined the gang because they fell for Baader. Well, this movie really disappointed and angered me because it tells the story of real people who wanted to create (in their own ways) a fair and Just world. But I don't see the same fairness and justice in the way they are represented. I also think that the end of the film is very funny! Why don't you tell straightforwardly that the guy has committed suicide? And what about this Police chief who cries next to him? Who is gonna believe that?....