La Vague

The Wave rides high (pun intended) on the new wave of film makers from Germany. The movie itself is shaped like a proverbial wave, starts gently and slowly gathers momentum and before you know it it turns into a powerhouse. The movie will amuse you, frighten you, disturb you and enthrall you completely.

The movie takes a lesson in human psychology and shows how it is possible for a person with oratory skills and confidence to start a movement that turns into a revolution with frightening possibilities. It explains a lot about world history and current affairs.

Theme apart, I don't usually like to discuss any movie's story but I suppose if you're here you would've read the other reviews and summaries and would know a fair bit already. Putting it mildly, the movie deals with a classroom experiment about autocracy which has interesting positive and negative consequences.

The direction is sharp and spot on. The director is able to delve deeply into the minds of the various characters and explain their behaviour and position in the society that is created. It is all done realistically. The acting by and large is very good; however a few of the actors displayed a scope for further improvement. However this does not take away much from the movie experience. There are certain similarities with another great German film, Das Experiment, but not many.

I am certainly going to suggest this film to people I know including people who live on a staple of Hollywood blockbusters and like to keep away from festival films. So if you get the opportunity to watch it, please do.

Die Welle details how a project on autocracy gradually leads to disastrous results. Initially without enthusiasm to teach the topic, Rainer Wegner conducts an unorthodox experiment to demonstrate to his students (equally lukewarm to start with) what life would be like under fascism. Neatly structured by days, the experiment begins with simple disciplines and grows to become an exclusive cult named "the wave" with its own uniform and salute.

Similar to his 2004 film "Before the Fall" which concerns the Nazi's seduction of youth, Dennis Gansel probes the individual psychologies that bring about uncontrollable collective movement, and how personal life is transformed by it. It offers a balanced view on an organisation like "The Wave" by enquiring whether it is a crystallisation of the students' class-free utopia (at the cost of losing individuality) or a community for those in need of belonging and empowerment.

What is frightening is that many (though not all) of them voluntarily follow the conformity through reasoning. Ironically, the mob mentality engulfing the students is what they condemn formerly; even the "anarchist" Rainer finds himself intoxicated with his increasingly idolised status.

An engaging and powerful film with a sense of humour, suspension (terror arises when the light goes off during Karo's anti-Wave poster distribution), twist (Rainer's concluding speech), believable characterisation and excellent acting (Jürgen Vogel, Max Riemelt, and Frederick Lau). Inspired by a true event in California , this intelligent film merits attention particularly because of its non-preaching and humanistic treatment of a heavy subject.

This is my fourth German film and I'm digging them. Because you asked, I watched "Das Boot," "Downfall," and "Run Lola Run."

I thought "The Wave" was going to be corny. I thought it was going to be about a group of simple-minded kids following a leader because of some bromides. It wasn't that at all.

Rainer Wenger (Jurgen Vogel) was a teacher who was teaching a class on autocracy for project week. After a spit-fire discussion with the class about what autocracy is Mr. Wenger decided to do an experiment with the class. For project week only they would have to do what Mr. Wenger said. There were a few that resisted and left the class, but those who remained were all in. Slowly, we saw the evolution of a movement.

"The Wave" is the negative side of populism. I say that because the Wave, meaning the organization they formed, could easily have been something good. Mr. Wenger had his students doing very constructive and positive stuff. Who doesn't believe that there's strength in unity, who doesn't believe in equality, who doesn't believe in helping their fellow man? Plenty of organizations, religions, and movements purport similar beliefs and they are viewed as being good. It's when people use these goodly aims to form radical armies bent on purging, "cleansing," or otherwise harming those who don't think like them, that makes a movement into a gang. And if the movement is large enough to engulf an entire nation it becomes an autocracy.

"The Wave" gives food for thought. I think the larger lesson wasn't about being a part of something, I think it was about extremism. That very same group with more moderate participants could easily have been an asset to their school and their community. So I don't knock the Wave for its extremists anymore than I knock a religion for its extremists. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

That's what the title "Die Welle" means. A teacher makes an experiment. He wants his class to understand what autocracy means. It starts with them stopping calling him by first name. Then they have to rise while addressed. Then, there are uniforms and a special saluting. And then, it runs out of control.

The most disturbing thing is that the teacher slowly loses control over himself, until there is a disaster.

OK, does it take a week to form young people to fascists? That's not the point. How ever long it takes, the interesting answer here is that it is possible at all. Do we run that risk too? Well, if you look into yourself, you maybe won't find a fascist, but you'll probably find someone who wants to be a part of something. Whatever it is.

How does anyone really portray autocracy and/or fascism? In most ways, it can be done in the usual one-dimensional concoction of corruption, evil deeds, extreme delusion and paranoia amongst the ruling elites of the regimes. The Wave ("Die Welle") though looks at the issue from a different angle, examining how it can arise and entrance those it touches, and in the process makes the whole issue look fresh again.

The basic story is that of a school teacher (an anarchist at heart) who has to teach a class about "Autocracy". Failing to get their attention, he decides to create an experiment whereby they are to create their own mini autocracy and rules amongst themselves (named "The Wave"). With such a controversial subject, the whole thing gets out of hand with the pupils succumbing to the autocratic fascist methodology with grave consequences.

One important point that needs to be added is that its a German movie, and for historical reasons the topic is a delicate one, yet seems to add to the whole feel. The film is quite realistically disturbing in many ways, and shows how most of the pupils slowly fall for fascism in quite innocent ways. It will make you think and possibly reassess the important question, as asked in the film, if Autocracy can rear its head again.

The writing, the acting and direction are excellent. Jürgen Vogel as the class teacher is both entertaining and thoughtful in his role, but the cast in general is exceptional especially as in the main they are mostly teenagers.

If you like thoughtful films, and wish to see something that is questioning historical events in the present, then there is little to better this. Deserves to be watched. Its a film that will definitely be spoken about and re watched by many repeatedly for many years to come.