Customer Reviews

The Edukators

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A trio of young idealistic germans breaks into houses of the wealthy, not to steal or inflict much damage but rather to rearrange the furniture in odd designs and leave haunting messages such as "Your life of Plenty will not go on for long" as a form of protest against the inequalities of capitalism. When on one occasion they are caught by a rich home owner, they kidnap him in order to avoid arrest but dont really know what to do with him. So, they abscond with him to an uncle's mountain cabin where they hope to devise how to proceed.

The young revolutionaries are no Baader-Meinhof. It is apparent they have no wish to hurt the middle-aged capitalist, though we fear that in order to "save their behinds" they might foolishly take some action that would plunge them into deeper trouble. But alongside this drama regarding the man's fate, there is a philosophical story unfolding that is even more compelling. As it turns out the kidnapped man was not always a bourgeois. During the 60s revolts he was a student radical himself and identifies with the idealism of his abductors. Over the course of their conversations, he explains the mechanisms by which he ended up in his current situation. It is familiar to many of us.
One day, you want a car that doesn't break down and some other conveniences. Then you have children and want security for them.
Then one day, to your surprize, you find yourself voting conservative.

So this is a movie about how difficult it is to effect progressive change nowadays. There is (usually)no need for a police state to pounce on progressives, as the media and the sirens of commodity fetishism circumvent our disquiet. The activist's message does not get heard in the big media, except for the passing derogatory remark. Television, on the one hand, numbs people and, on the other hand, makes them believe they must have certain commodities in order to be "somebody". Faced with a populus distracted by all this glitter, the revolutionary, too, grows tired of waiting for people to wake up to reality, and finally, slowly slides down the same slippery slope as the german capitalist depicted here. All the easier since young people of this ilk tend to be extremely intelligent and can quickly rise in the system once they set their minds to it.

Even the capitalist realizes what a trap the sytem is. He is not happy. He collects things but does not even have the time to enjoy them. So, it would appear that one is faced with a dilemma, a catch-22. If we stay true to our ideals, we face poverty and insignificance. If we get "realistic" and join the system, we become food for the machine and live to purchase more things which we hope will save us from our hell.

The situation portrayed in this film speaks to the young and not so young whose banner reads "A Better World is Possible". Revolts, like that of Seattle and the recent demonstrations against the war, flare up and die off again. The failure of "real" socialism and the momentary (I hope) ability to imagine a plausible alternative makes us timid and we feel daunted by the strength of the system vis a' vis our powerlessness. This film explores that psychology.

The Edukators is a very interesting German film, directed by Hans Weingartner, about three young radicals whose ideals are put to the test. We at first observe them taking part in fairly commonplace demonstrations against global trade. These are people, however, who are determined to take things beyond the level of protest. Jan and Peter are friends who break into the homes of affluent people and, instead of stealing anything, simply rearrange the furniture and other items. They leave a calling card with the message, "Your days of plenty are numbered," and sign it "The Edukators." The premise is in itself fascinating and leads to some humorous scenes as well as provoking thought. The humor comes from seeing the absurd relocation of objects, such as putting a stereo in the refrigerator. This is, rather than conventional vandalism, a kind of performance art, meant to create uneasiness and self-examination on the part of the victims.

While Peter is out of town, his girlfriend Jule and Jan spend time together and become attracted to each other. After Jan introduces Jule to the Edukators' tactics, Jule convinces him to help her "visit" the home of a businessman to whom she owes a large sum of money following a car accident. The man catches them and they end up kidnapping him, bringing Peter into the action. The rest of the film follows the three friends as they decide what to do with their victim and debate politics with him. Some of these discussions are interesting, though they inevitably follow a predictable course ("you are a parasite living off the poor" vs. "I have a right to what I earned," to paraphrase). The businessman, however, moves from arguing with his captors to sympathizing with them, explaining that he was once a radical himself. Is this for real or merely a ploy to gain their trust? The romantic triangle further escalates the tension.

I liked the intellectual content of The Edukators; it reminds us of how few films today deal sympathetically with characters who are not only outside the system, but actively oppose it. Even better, the movie does not simply romanticize the radicals and demonize the businessman. It actually raises more questions than it answers, which is probably a good thing. It is not a perfect film; some of the situations seem a bit contrived (e.g. one of them is an expert at deactivating burglar alarms because he used to work for a security company). The ending is more of a clever punchline than a serious resolution of matters. Still, it is very engaging and well-acted and puts a new face on the old dilemma of participating in vs. fighting mainstream society.

Jan and Peter are two best friends who try to change the world by screwing with the minds of the wealthy. When the rich go on vacation, these two boys break into their homes and move stuff around. However, when Peter's girlfriend gets into the act for revenge, everythings goes horribly wrong and friendships begin to crack. Even though there is obviously some deeper meaning to this film, it is still interesting enough to keep viewers engaged. The acting is excellent, especially with Daniel Bruehl from 'Good-bye, Lenin!' as Jan. A must-see for everyone, whether you speak German or not.

On the back of the DVD cover it says that it was one of the funniest movies that person had seen all year. That I would disagree with, because I found it anything but funny. However it is a great movie. It really captures this feeling of powerlessness and of hopelessness that one finds in German youth and young adults. Although I am sure the same goes for Americans. All three main characters work, because they have to, but aren't exactly sure where it will ever get them. They start breaking into houses-huge, rich villas-, not to steal anything, but to rearrange furniture and take away that feeling of security from the rich. The feeling of security is something they haven't experienced yet in their adult lives. Jule owes a lot of money to a filthy rich guy, because she hit his mercedes and was uninsured. All she works for, is to pay him back. On her insistance they break into his house and end up getting caught by him. In a rush moment they abduct him and go to this hut in the mountains. There begins a conversation between the three and the captured. He, although now wealthy, claims to have been quite active in the 60s and 70s and that he understands what's going on him them. It becames an interesting dialogue, but it's not idealized, because Jule's and Peter's position is brought into question as well, because violence doesn't solve anything. The movie never really gives an answer to what the solution for the future is, but it discribes this present state of mind perfectly and states that something has to change, better sooner than later. All three actors do an terrific job.

Peter (Stipe Erceg) and Jan (Daniel Brühl) are friends with a mission: they break into the homes of the ridiculously wealthy, not to steal, but to rearrange the furniture and leave a message saying "your days of plenty are numbered," (die fetten Jahre sind vorbei) signed "The Edukators."

Peter's girlfriend Jule (Julia Jentsch) has her own reasons for being angry with the ridiculously wealthy: she's perpetually broke, slowly paying a man named Hardenberg (Burghart Klaußner) the cost of a high-end Mercedes from an accident when she didn't have insurance. At her low-wage job, it'll be years before she pays it off.

When Peter's out of town, she and Jan spend time together, getting closer, and Jan tells her about The Edukators. Jule convinces Jan that her nemesis is the perfect subject for the scheme. However, while they're rearranging his house, Hardenberg returns home, catches them, and recognizes Jule.

Panicking, they take him hostage, and then call Peter to come rescue them, and they all end up in a secluded cabin in the mountains while they think about their options.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this movie that seemed to promise to be a sociopolitical drama, but after the first 20 minutes or so, I was hooked. It did make me think--a lot--about social problems, but it was the characters that grabbed me.

The young trio were very realistically frustrated, both with the injustices they saw and with their inability to effect change. And yet, they're just playing at being revolutionaries--their big statements are a cross between a prank and performance art. The romantic triangle was also very well done, and played into their motivations--specifically, the different relationships between Jan and Jule and Peter and Jule, and between Jan and Peter were distinct and the events in the film changed those relationships.

Hardenberg was even more thought-provoking, as he reveals his history as a 60s radical himself, and his journey into becoming one of the ultra-rich.

Probably not coincidentally, it was also around the 20-minute mark that I started ignoring the subtitles and just listening to the dialogue in German. There's a huge difference for me in being able to understand a movie when it's originally in German as opposed to being dubbed. Lots more syllables in German than in English, so the actors in dubbed movies talk really fast--not so good for the less-than-fluent.

I generally hate rom-coms. Occasionally though, watching two people falling in love and expressing it in a very simple way just gets through and wins my heart. For me, The Edukators works on the same level. It is a film which allows important ideas about the politics in our lives to be conveyed in a very simple way. And I see this as a great strength. Too often, complexity and overanalysis can dull us to a concept we fundamentally believe in and give us the excuse to deny its power. I'd be interested to ask those who complain that the politics here are too stripped down and "text-book" when they actually last heard sypathetic characters with such pure ideology given a voice and the chance to chase down their beliefs in a big screen drama, in front of the world, as opposed to in the campus bar. We don't resist the simplicity of "I love you". Yet what could be more complex than love? I enjoyed the rush of spending time with characters who say "I believe I can change things" and are allowed to have a go at doing just that.

Since I entered this film with no expectations, The Edukators hit me like a combination of a spiked punch and a sucker punch - it left me surprisingly shaken yet somehow also refreshingly, intoxicatingly awakened.

The Edukators takes us on a journey with three would-be revolutionaries: Jan, a passionate iconoclast who rails against the commodification of dissent ("What used to be revolutionary, you can buy in stores today. Che Guevara t-shirts and anarchy stickers."); Jule (played by Julia Jentsch, the dazzling young actress from "Sophie Scholl"), a directionless and searching soul who, as Jan says, goes to so many protests against exploitation and oppression but is still oppressed and exploited herself; and Peter, an somewhat naïve idealist who early on tells Jule to "always go for the brightest colors" when choosing an ice cream flavor.

Apparently, writer/director Hans Weingartner took these latter words to heart in the making of this movie; it's been ages since I've seen such vivid, vibrant hues in a film - from the chaotic neon of the boisterous Berlin cityscape to the pastoral calm of the countryside, this movie is awash in breathtaking color.

The same could also be said about its characters - though they may start of as seemingly one-dimensional archetypes, many shades of light and dark emerge from each well-acted portrait. And when complications arise in the young revolutionaries' activities (as they always do, when one puts one's dreams into action), they end up on opposite sides of a standoff in which some remarkable similarities are discovered.

The Edukators deftly mixes politics of the mind with politics of the heart and whips it all into a heady and suspenseful stew. (And no small amount of suspense was created by my own worries, as the film neared its conclusion, that there was no way to end it in a satisfactory way - happily, I was wrong!).

And while the DVD lacks any real extras, with 2 hours and 10 minutes of such satisfying and sumptuous cinematic goodness, can you really bite off any more when you're already so full?!

'Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei' or THE EDUKATORS has a message, a message that deals with the 'education' of the captains of industry by the idealistic socially conscious rebels among the youth AND the 'education' of those rebellious youths by the world wise/weary hoarders of wealth whose life change resulted from being the rebellious youth of yesteryear. The dichotomy of opinions makes for a thoughtful and thought-provoking diatribe that lifts this film from an action movie into the realm of a psychological 'thriller' of sorts.

Peter (Stipe Erceg) and Jan (Daniel Brühl) have been close friends for fifteen years, share a flat, and spend their time attacking the corrupt society in which they resentfully find themselves by breaking in to wealthy peoples homes while the owners are away, rearranging all the furniture and leaving notes that inform them their days of lifestyle are doomed. They do not steal or damage: their acts are political and philosophical statements. Jan is the more idealistic of the two and also the more reclusive. Peter is gregarious and finds a live-in girlfriend Jule (Julia Jentsch) who slowly becomes attracted to Jan, more for bonding than for Peter's physical emphasis. Jule confesses to Jan that the reason she cannot accompany the good-hearted Peter on a trip to Spain is that she is deeply in debt, the result of an accident in her old car with a new Mercedes belonging to an older wealthy man Hardenburg (Burghart Klaußner) who is making Jule pay him the 100,000 Euros the car cost him. Jule is complying but is resentful that a man of wealth is so money conscious that he has overlooked the fact that his demands have made her life intolerable. When Jule is informed of Peter's and Jan's night capers, she suggests the trio make Hardenburg's home their next ploy. The result of a bluster, the trio is discovered by Hardenburg and they opt to kidnap him to prevent their going to jail.

Retreating to a country cabin the now 'quartet' slowly come to understand each other, with Hardenburg confessing that in his youth he too was a hippie and a member of a similarly socially conscious gang. He reminisces and gains the trio's respect, is instrumental in revealing the fact the what he believes is a ménage a trois is in reality a changing of partners for Jule, preferring Jan to Peter. How this new information alters the plans of the kidnapping and its resolution is the climax of the film and accompanies some surprises best left to the individual viewer's enjoyment.

The actors are uniformly excellent: Daniel Brühl is rapidly growing into a very fine actor and Julia Jentsch is most assuredly a new actor to watch. The film gets a bit long in the tooth for the static situation of the final half, but the impact of the ending rescues the story from any flaws it may have had. Director Hans Weingartner understands the fine line between message films and entertaining movies and succeeds briskly with this one. THE EDUKATORS leaves us with food for thought no matter the age group - current rebels or aged rebels! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 05

Daniel Bruhl gives a solid performance in this German film about 3 young political activists who oppose big business and government greed and corruption. Their covert break-in's of the homes of the uber-wealthy suddenly changes, during a moment of impulsive passion, from malicious hijinks to a much more serious dilemma. No spoilers here, sorry.

Each of the 4 leading characters contributes to the intrigue and the dramatic development of a break-in gone wrong. Based on this film, I'd like to see more of German director Hans Weingartner's work. Excellent soundtrack too. Well worth adding to your collection.

The Edukators is an fantastic piece of cinema and I highly recommend viewing it. Rising talent Daniel Bruhl gives a great performance leading this wonderful cast. One of my favorite films.