The Edukators (2004) User Reviews

Psychologically well developed

[meitschi · 8/10 · 18 December 2004]

A very interesting, psychologically well developed film, that starts from the rather simple (the whole of the establishment are 'a wunch of bankers', as the British say) and then becomes more complex. The problem of social precariousness touches many young people today I think, though there are probably not so many around who'd also take 'revolutionary action' as the people in the film do.

The development of the Hardenberg character was also very interesting: at first, he is a very rich top manager, also a rather pathetic figure, but then, as he gets in touch with his own idealistic past, he shows much strength and wisdom. The story of the ménage à trois vs. 'free love' also shows that young people then where even more radical than they are now...

***SPOILERS!***

The ending left me bewildered though. After seeing the film, both my boyfriend and I interpreted it in he way that Hardenberg has succumbed to the establishment again. But here on IMDb I read some other interpretations, notably that it was him who helped them to get to the Mediterrenean and who gave him his boat and money. The message in the empty apartment, 'Some people never change', also pointed into this direction. But why the attack by the police - especially with anti-terrorist forces - was still necessary then, is quite beyond me. Also, Hardenberg didn't at all look amused or content in the police car - as he obviously would have if he had only wanted to fool the cops.

Revisiting the politics of gesture

[Chris Knipp · 7/10 · 12 August 2005]

A somewhat thin but likable film, "The Edukators" shows us a couple of young German guys who are reborn Seventies terrorists reduced to gesture. At night they break into rich people's houses and rearrange the furniture leaving notes telling their victims they've got too much money and had better watch out. ("The Days of Plenty Are Over" -- "Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei" -- goes the German film title.) They also go to demos and forcibly leaflet shoe stores with warnings about child labor, but their real thrills come in the break-ins: they're hooked on the rush. One has a girlfriend who works at a snooty upscale restaurant where customers and manager are equally abusive to her.

Things get messy when the other young man, Jan (Daniel Brühl) is prodded into an impulsive break-in with his friend's girl, Jule (Julie Jentsch). He's falling for her and reveals his secret lawbreaking to impress her. She insists on entering the house because it belongs to a man she owes 94,000 Euros to for totaling his Mercedes. This gesture's unplanned and the girl's inexperienced and they have to break back in the next night to find her cell phone. The owner returns while they're there and recognizes the girl. The three young people, Jule, Jan, and Peter (Stipe Erceg) feel that now they're "blown" they must kidnap the rich guy and take him to a cabin in the mountains, which of course they immediately do.

These are young revolutionaries after the fact. There are no longer any Bader-Meinhofs or Red Brigades to belong to. The paradox, a rather pat one, is that the guy they kidnap, Hardenberg (Burghart Klaussner), was a Sixties and Seventies revolutionary himself, who only slowly slid into the capitalist life. Needless to say the slide turned quite successful since he now earns over three million a year. But he claims to feel nostalgia for the old days and sympathy for his captors. Before long they're all happily playing cards and he's cooking for them and could probably escape sooner, if he weren't enjoying the forced vacation amid romantic reminders of the old days.

Things end surprisingly, but "The Edukators" isn't so much interested in its story as in existing as a platform for youthful critiques of capitalism and pondering the old saw -- which Hardenberg comes up with eventually, Anyone under thirty who isn't liberal has no heart; anyone over thirty who isn't conservative has no mind. The youths are exuberant and naive. Hormones are raging, so, typically, the love triangle almost takes over the politics. Their prisoner is smarter than they are, but what sustains the over-long second half is that his sympathy for his kidnappers doesn't seem fake, just as his story doesn't seem contrived. Or rather, only a little fake and a little contrived.

This is a film that musters some good suspense and adrenalin rushes at first, but starts losing them as the kidnapping wears on because it all begins to seem more about politics and the talk than about the action, though wondering how it's going to end is still what's going to keep you watching. That such a dichotomy should appear -- politics vs. action -- is an irony of the piece. If you've got sympathy for the youthful rebellion or the critiques of capitalism -- or just want to debate the issues brought up -- the movie can hold your interest. The actors are all plausible and appealing, particularly Klaussner and the young but experienced Brühl, whose sweetness and exuberance motivated the 2003 East Berlin comedy, "Goodbye, Lenin." The jerky digital video comes with the territory, though it may some day become as dated as bell-bottoms. The filmmakers could have edited this down to less than two hours and four minutes and given the story harder edges. The music is loud and integral to the youthful portraits.

The revolution starts.... now!

[rainking_es · 8/10 · 28 January 2006]

I'm sure there will be plenty of people that will accuse "The edukators" of being such a cheap anti-capitalism manifest, a "cool" product designed for rich boys who feel like making a revolution. Whatever, nowadays we need idealism more than ever, we need to believe in lost causes, we have to appeal to the dignity of the individual and to spit in the riches' faces. "The Edukators" is one way of doing all those things from the cinema screen by telling the story of three rebel young guys that won't stay and look without doing a thing while the big corporations destroy this world and turn us into working-hard zombies. They have an idea: to assault mansions, mess everything up, to make trouble just to scare the owners... not to steal, not to break things. It is all about disconcerting. Obviously their "game" will soon get out of hand, they'll get involved in a kidnapping, and they will bump into something that's more powerful than revolution or ideals: love. Two boys, one girl... that means TROUBLES.

As I said, we need more movies like this one that are so well made, and also tries to open people's eyes. (Unfortunatelly I'm sure that those who should get their eyes opened will never watch "The Edukators".

PS: It is worth to watch "The Edukators" even if it's just for the last minutes of the film, with Jeff Buckley singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallellujah" (that also proves the director's exquisite taste).

*My rate: 8/10

"You have too much money."

[lazar_x · 10/10 · 1 September 2004]

Don't let anyone tell you horror stories about the camera work, they probably never had an ounce of imagination anywhere in their bodies!

For those of us who are bored blind with standard Hollywood-ian movies, this kind of camera work is very refreshing. The constant motion puts us right into the characters' world and helps foster an instant connection with them. Not that one wouldn't connect with them without the fancy directing! On the contrary, Jan, Jule, and Peter will reawaken the idealist in anyone.

The movie is essentially about three friends with seemingly no particular direction in life other than petty political activism now and then. But Peter and Jan have found a very clever way of subverting the socio-economic system they so despise. Calling themselves "the Edukators", they break into the homes of the fabulously wealthy only to make some absurd adjustments to the arrangement of their furniture and leave a simple note behind: "You have too much money."

With this basic plot, The Edukators delves into that ill-defined human notion of morality, eventually blurring the line between the ethics of social politics and the ethics of personal relationships.

Don't let the plot scare you, you don't have to be an anarchist to enjoy this movie! It's well-written, beautifully shot, and flawlessly performed. Some of the drawbacks are that it gets a little long and preachy at the end (which happens fairly often to new directors), but let's not nitpick. I'm willing to gloss over the film's (rare) faults because, in the end, there is far too much to take home from this movie. It's a real shame that some would wish to dismiss it as some crackpot anarchist film.

Wonderful movie

[morgonhed · 10/10 · 21 April 2005]

I have to issue a few words of warning first:

Don't see this movie after you have just enjoyed a really good Hollywood-production (as I did). Because if you do you may at first be put off a little bit by the quality of this digital productions that does not quite come up to 35mm-standards.

You will notice this for about 10 seconds.

Two hours later however you won't quite understand anymore what exactly it was you liked so much about this great Hollywood-movie that suddenly seems to be so shallow, so void of real issues and characters ...

This is a wonderful, wonderful gem of a movie that won't bore you even for a second and will keep you thinking for days and days.

I don't want to go into the plot here (see for yourself), just that: This is NOT a movie that can be summed up in one statement. It is a film about political activism, love, friendship, ideals in life and how we betray them, the generation if 1968 and what became of them, the dynamics of small groups and, and, and...

To wrap so much relevant issues into a gripping, highly entertaining and even funny story for me is a real miracle in scriptwriting. The dialogues are outstanding.

Of course the main reason this movie works so well is the fantastic cast. All four main characters are absolutely phenomenal and of course Danny Bruehl and Julia Jentsch show again that they are the best German actors of their generation.

This movie touches you emotionally, gives you food for thought and entertains immensely at the same time. For me it is the best movie I have seen this year.

This is what cinema should be like.

there *are* good German/Austrian movies, yippee!

[br-19 · 12 January 2005]

I went to see the film completely unprepared, and I left the theatre rather euphoric. I liked the film because of the amiable story, the roughly-sketched but believable characters (even if we don't learn too much about their backgrounds) and the funny, witty dialog. And last but not least the surprise in the end -- until three minutes to the end I wouldn't have had an idea how to end a story like this.

The four main characters were cast exceptionally well, and the dialog -- whew! Yes, the kidnappers seem very naive (so does the manager, btw, in another way), and the words they use are heavy with cliché, but it's not a message of any kind that's new and interesting. It's what happens beyond words: I've rarely seen people in a movie talk and talk so much about convictions and ideology, but all the really important things happen inside them and without words.

So go and watch this film but don't jump on the political statements. Things might have some more layers here.

Good. Shoddy Camera Work, Good Content

[jwatts83 · 7/10 · 4 August 2005]

The Edukators artfully combines the archetypal love triangle storyline with political discussion and your typical heist gone awry flick and a journey of self-discovery. On the one hand, it's fairly ambitious genre-crossing, on the other the political aspects of it (although relevant) feel outdated. Jan is like most Che Guevarra-loving undergraduate Marxists I know, and I agree completely with the frustrating lack of a cohesive politicized youth movement (in the US)to provide an outlet for angst, and dissent from the current regime, etc. but the manifesto of the Edukators isn't particularly compelling. It merely provides a set up for the clash between generations, and the realization that we do share something in common with our parents. Also it frames the love triangle, and emphasizes the fragility of human relationships. On a side note, I hated the grainy-ness of the film...weirdly I actually watched a film print of the DV transfer, so it might look better on a Digital Projector, & I also had the experience of watching the film burn through, which rarely happens now. DV sucks, especially for a movie that's based so much in the mountains and in nature, its a shame it couldn't be better captured.

warm, intelligent and entertaining

[andyruff · 9/10 · 1 November 2004]

the edukators is a hugely enjoyable film that perfectly balances the human themes of friendship, love and trust with it's more political undertones.

the main characters are all performed with warmth and a playfulness that keeps the human side of the story engaging, while the plot develops with continual twists and tension. of course the idealism and activism of the protagonists plays a central roll, but the film never falls to the temptation to preach or bog itself down with weighty polemic.

all in all, the edukators is a breath of fresh air that is both satisfying to the head and the heart. highly recommended.

Some People Never Change

[Brubaker1971 · 7/10 · 18 April 2005]

Just watched this, loved it.

Truly a refreshing change from the normal sort of tosh that is churned out by the bucket-load in Hollywood.

Having read a few of the posts with regards to the end of the movie, I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring too.

The end is deliberately ambiguous, relying on the moral standpoint of the viewer to define it. If you felt that the diktators got help from the guy they kidnapped in order to get away and continue their work, then you're probably like me - part-hippie, part-revolutionary.

If you felt that the diktators merely predicted that the guy they kidnapped would call the police, then you're probably one of those upstanding citizens we all hear and read about.

The truth is what you make it.

Some people never change. ;)

7.7 / 10

Great cast, plot, photography, and overall very inspiring.

[yinahurtado · 10/10 · 9 February 2005]

The cast is impressive. Daniel Bruhl once again shows that he can act. The plot attracts your entire attention as you live the experiences of these three kids in Berlin, and their quest to denounce the evils of capitalism. There's romance, jokes, great scenery and good music. At first it seemed to me this movie was the continuation of Good Bye Lenin (probably because of Daniel in Berlin?) Eitherway, It made me want to travel around Europe some more, learn German, and also think about my obsession with shopping and TV. Very inspiring. In a few words, this movie questions our understanding of happiness and success in a very entertaining way.

Loved the film!

[roxychampion · 7/10 · 29 September 2008]

My class and i studied this film as our A-level focus film for our exam and we all loved it. all the girls thought the guys were really hot and the story line was amazing. we decided to read some reviews before posting our own and by the looks of things most people feel the same way as we do!

this has been a very interesting film to study, however the ending shouldn't of been changed for us English viewers. we have come away form the Edukators with completely different morals then the rest of the world.

can't wait to see what the exam question will ask about this film but believe me i won't be able to stop writing!

Your days of plenty are numbered...

[sarah-theissen · 10/10 · 15 October 2004]

... but the days of plenty for German Cinema obviously just started!!

I saw this movie at the Cork Film Festival yesterday night. Being originally from Germany and a huge Daniel Bruehl Fan I HAD to watch this movie. Of course I didn't get disappointed: it's such a brilliant movie with such a profound statement. Hans Weingartner seems to be gifted with a unique power of observation: not living in Germany at the moment made me very sensitive for clichéd German behaviour (Scenes like the one in the tram and the restaurant are just so typical!) Great acting by outstandingly talented young actors (can Daniel Bruehl get any better? Obviously he can!), witty dialogues and a surprising ending made this movie pure fun watching every single second! I am very glad that if German movies make it abroad they are such smart movies as this one (or Run Lola Run, Goodbye Lenin,...). I hope to see more and more German movies over here in the future.

The days of plenty just started for the German Cinema!

**Spoiler** Not pleased with the ending

[kylknght · 7/10 · 17 June 2015]

The Edukators is named after the Self Designated name of a group, by which three characters the film follows, created. Jan and Peter, whom are best friends, are the original team that make up The Edukators. They are renown for breaking into large villas in their town and rearranging the furniture to instill a fear into the wealthy homeowners that they are not safe. Instead of burglary as the end goal of their breaking and entering, they want to send a message to the upper class that they have more money then they need. Jules, Peter's girlfriend is a victim of an upperclassman named Hardenburg, who sued her for totaling his Mercedes a few years before the film. Jule had no insurance, and therefore was in over her head with debt. At the start of the film, Jule was not informed of the team her boyfriend and his friend had been a part of. A love drama begins around Jule and Jan, while Peter goes away to Barcelona. Jan tells Jule what him and Peter actually do at night while she's sleeping. Jule begins to fall in love with the idea of going against the upper class while at the same time falling for Jan. One evening, while Peter is still away, Jule spontaneously decides to break into Hardenburg's home with Jan and commit the usual acts of the group. During their act, Jule mistakenly leaves her cell phone behind. When they both go back the next night, Hardenburg comes home to catch the two red handed. Hardenburg also recognized Jule, so caught in this predicament, they decide to call Peter to come to the home and help kidnap him. The second half of the story than encircles the group in a vacation cabin in rural Germany, which Jule's uncle owns and seldom stays. While inhabiting the cabin and taking care of their prisoner, the four converse about the purpose of their group and Hardenburg's background. While this is happening the love triangle begins to unfold, and feelings get hurt. Surprisingly, the group finds out that Hardenburg was once part of a similar team in the '60s called the Socialist German Student Union. In my opinion, the second half of the movie is dry and very slow. It seems to turn from a political led action flick to a love story where friendship is tested. I agree with one of the reviews here that the movie could have been much bolder with the ending but instead chose to be didactic. I hope you find this useful and would love to talk to anyone who wants to discuss the movie more!

So naive it hurts

[joachim-hoeppener · 1/10 · 18 September 2006]

I was really ashamed of being German when I saw this movie (which got so many awards). The characters are so ridiculous that I first thought it was a comedy. Unti the very end I was expecting a major twist in the story because I could not imagine that a such highly decorated film has such shallow characters and such a lame and predictable story. For me this movie could not be recommended to adults because of the childishness of the characters and not to kids because of the dubious political message. That is something like socialism in Disneyland. The story is full of clichés , e.g. the scene in the restaurant with the snobbish guests. All rich people are evil and the poor ones are nice, idealistic and want to become teachers. Absurd and simply wrong is the way Jule got to her outstanding debt by crashing the rich mans' car without being covered by insurance. You simply cannot incur debts that high as a private person because there is a law in Germany against that to protect people from ruining themselves in the long run ("Privatinsolvenzrecht"). Therefore the whole "argumentation" and plot is impossible. The only good thing about that crap (pardon my French) is the shooting of the Alp scenery.

Entertaining to the very last scene

[david7031 · 9/10 · 16 December 2004]

I went to this film expecting a comedy in the mold of "Sonnenallee" or "Good Bye Lenin", and I wasn't disappointed. The characters became very real to me, even Hardenberg, the kidnapped businessman, who was a bit wooden at the beginning. For me, the best part of the film was watching the relationships build between all 4 of the main characters, both before and after the kidnapping. There is really very little action in the film: it's more about watching the characters develop personally and in their dealings with each other. Lest this sound too dry, I found the film quite humorous at times, exciting and emotionally intense. The conclusion is left open to interpretation--but you'll have to watch the film quite carefully to have the data you need to make your own interpretation! Highly recommended!

Excellent movie

[nomonja · 10/10 · 9 February 2005]

Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei (The Edukators) is the first German film in competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival since Wim Wender's In weiter Ferne, so nah! (Faraway, So Close!) in 1993. The film's protagonists, Jan, Peter and Jule, dream of changing society. They form "The Edukators," a group that warns the rich and disturbs their material comfort with non-violent actions. In "the Edukators" Hans Weingartner raises the question: "What happened to the revolutionary generation of the sixties? Where are all the anarchists, hippies and idealists that wanted to change the world? I loved the movie, it is condemning and inspiring at the same time, depressing and uplifting and as a viewer you are forced to decide if you feel sympathy for the idealistic young people or the successful materialistic businessman. Or both?!

The English version of the movie is wrong

[etchatmo · 8 January 2006]

I am a fan of this movie, or I should say, of its true German version. The people who decided to take the film and subtitle it for English speakers cut the ending of the movie. I found this to be the worst idea. OK I will admit that the true ending is a bit more far fetched than where the English version left it, but without the correct ending, the whole point of the movie is changed. It is changed from there being hope and a chance for people to change, to there being no way that people will change. I am extremely disappointed with the cutting of the German ending of the movie. The choice for cutting the ending was poorly made and I would recommend to anyone who wishes to see the movie to watch the German version.

Good, yet a bit uneven story

[BeneCumb · 7/10 · 9 February 2015]

This film could be roughly divided into 2 halves: 1st, with 3 main characters, is more dynamic, 2nd, with 4 main characters, is more static; the 1st means more action, the 2nd - more reasoning. Both are skilfully created and accomplished, but the 3 young people among themselves seemed more interesting and realistic to me than 3 young vs 1 older; the latter's reactions were sometimes not so feasible. Luckily, the ending has several twists, so you "forget" that/if you started to scent a trivial round-up.

Anyway, all performances were good and distinct, perhaps Daniel Brühl's character was more versatile, with more presence on screen (or he is just more famous internationally?).

Thus, a recommended film about reality vs. idealism, empathy vs. conformism, and other topics giving food for thought. And I began to yearn for their hippie Volkswagen bus again... :)

Excellent movie...

[serene_raccoon · 10/10 · 26 December 2004]

This movie has everything to be an excellent movie for young people (but also enjoyable for older people). There is loads of political statement made which should make everyone think even if u don't share the opinion. I mean, how many movies are there which talk about politics at all? The movie is full of emotions acted pretty well. The camera which makes u feel to be very close to the scenes and the music support these emotions successfully.

Even if you are not that kind of anarchist, there are still some scenes which are just so familiar to yourself. It's a movie about youth itself I suppose.

The movie is a must-see

This movie is too long.

[Hunky Stud · 7/10 · 8 January 2010]

First of all, this is not an epic movie, but it is as long as an epic movie. The first 45 minutes or so could be shortened to 10 or 15 minutes.

The ending is not very reasonable, but it was a surprise to me. Because the guy already knew those three, even if they moved to a new place, the police can easily put their face mugs on the internet and on TV, and the police should be able to track them easily. They just can't run away. Unlike they moved to spain already, because the maid seems to be speaking Spanish to the girl.

This kind of movie can never be made in the US, because it is truly an anti-capitalist movie. And I doubt that it will get any funding for it.

Some of the sceneries on the mountain were beautiful.

Easily one of the best films about activism

[Elain-ee · 9/10 · 27 April 2010]

The first review I read of this movie criticized the camera work. I wonder why? For an indie production, this was a surprisingly high quality film and nowhere near as jerky as, say, Cloverfield. If you tend towards sea-sickness and have been avoiding watching this film for that reason then rest assured that there is no need to bring a sick bag to the viewing.

Having said that, I found the Edukators to be a well developed character drama that pulled the carpet out from under my feet just when it started to get too comfortable. The three central, activist characters have perfect amount of cynicism, idealism and vulnerability. Their views never came across as preachy, merely pragmatic. But then I'm left wing, so I guess I would say that - however, the 'other side of the story' gets a chance to be heard in the form of Mr. Hardenberg. As a child of a baby boomer I found him to be a familiar character, full of his generation's mournful sense of complicity in corruption. The only complaint i had is that the action drags a bit towards the end, but this is compensated for by the clever twist at the ending.

It's hard to find a story out there that actually contributes emotional depth to the 'capitalist vs. socialist' debate instead of focusing on rhetoric. That's why I am thankful to the makers of this film for contributing such a solid story to the mix. I would definitely recommend it to any activist friends who want to think beyond the next demo and/or leafletting session.

A film about innocence and idealism...

[Jose Guilherme · 10/10 · 25 January 2005]

Having read all the comments before I would just like to reinforce that the film is about innocence and idealism. I don't think the director really is doing "propaganda" for leftist ideas or revolutions. The "leftie" characters were aptly shown as naive and even outright dumb. The capitalist wasn't a monster or inhuman either.

I don't think the "alternative" end explanation for Hardenberg being an accomplice makes any sense. He obviously remains "establishment". The message on the wall is clearly for him. In the end I was saddened that Hardenberg didn't have some empathy or learn a bit himself. I think he really was once a SDS member and a revolutionary himself, though naturally he played it up a bit to save his skin.

It also shows that life and the system eventually get us all. We end up boring and all about conformity. Our youthful rebellion becoming a comfortable obedience. We just want our paychecks and suburban homes.

Its also sad to read so many commentaries about "lefty" film... the film is so much more than just the politics in it.

Naive, Implausible, Shallow Nonsense (apart from that it's a decent movie)

[Wilfred1 · 2/10 · 11 June 2005]

I'm easily pleased in the cinema, I promise you, but after an hour of Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei, known over here in Limeyland as The Edukators, I was ready to leave. Respect for social niceties bade me stay (my wife wouldn't have been pleased to have been left in Derby without the car, and no means of getting home), in addition to the fact that I have never left a movie prematurely anyway, but I could easily have broken my duck here.

This is almost a bad movie, its single redeeming feature being the excellent acting throughout, of Bruhl, Jensch, Erceg and Burghart Klaussner, particularly, in his role as the kidnapped Hardenburg. There are three deficiencies and they are all considerable. First and least, the first hour is slow and turgid. In short, we learn of a futile pseudo-revolutionary, young double-act, the self-styled Edukators. We learn what they do and we watch while Peter, essentially a good looking, shallow dope, lose his girl to the sullen Jan. Talking of shallow, were I not myself sufficiently weak as to be a willing target for the considerable visual charms of Julia Jensch as Jule, I'd have caught up on some sleep, I'm sure.

Problem two involves the plotting. It's asinine throughout the movie. The narrative development depends upon the retrieval of a left-behind phone – oh, crikey – and at the end, an implausible move by Hardenburg. The three-second shot of his supposed agonising next to a packet of cigarettes was laughable. Whilst it's fair to say that human beings are nothing if not strange, illogical and outright daft, if writers Held (and director) Weingartner had held their nerve, the film could have ended as a pleasant, if lightweight and flawed (see problem 3) piece. However, they chose to go for an endgame clever-clever flourish that had me frothing at the mouth and scowling as the credits rolled (a difficult trick to pull off simultaneously).

Character and plot are like Siamese twins. Held and Weingartner's plot is badly wrong because they allow their characters to behave in ways that stretch credulity. The hard-nosed renegade Jan allows his attraction to Jule to break activist vows. Jan and Peter fall out, then resurrect their friendship for the sake of politics. Hardenburg decides to change his attitude to his kidnappers (as already referred to above). Here for this author, were three rank bad writing moves where the writers failed to let their characters – very well created, to be fair – to be true to themselves. If they want to make the point that humans do act irrationally, they didn't set it up conscientiously.

Worst of all we have the appallingly unbelievable spectacle of the bourgeois Hardenburg revealing himself to have once been the associate of the Beider Meinhof terrorists. Unless Held/Weingartner have him lying through his teeth, then this was like Mickey Mouse trying to convince us that really, he was Tsar Nicholas II. If he was lying, then it wasn't remotely hinted at in any way in the script or body language of the actors. This was rank bad stuff.

Thirdly: if characterisation was poor in the movie (leading to disastrous plot moves), then the thematic content here in terms of modern young attitudes to 21st century materialism, was nothing better than GCSE level stuff. We see Edukators shake their political thing, breaking and entering, and whatnot; this is merely dull; to hear them expound their philosophy to Hardenburg was excruciating. The outlaws would have been better deployed so as to make a study in socio-political immaturity. The writers came over as being sympathetic to their counter-cultural philosophies through atrociously amateurish dialogue. I wouldn't have followed the trio down to the corner to buy a bar of chocolate, let alone man the barricades. It was all I could do to stop myself shouting, "Go out and get a bloody job!" at the screen. Admittedly, my view is skewed by my own bourgeois materialist attitudes, but really, after a hundred years of cinema, anyone making a movie, expecting anyone with a shred of intellect and a movie-going back story has to be and do better than this.

One final point: anyone making a movie these days also has to do better than dump Buckley singing 'Hallelujah' onto the soundtrack, hoping that we're not noticing what a miserable cliché that is. CWT

The years of plenty have already begun for German cine-art

[VoiceOfEurope · 10/10 · 4 August 2007]

German movie-making is at its best. In the last 8-10 years a new generation of super-talented writer-directors and actors have emerged from the Harz mountains and Bavaria and took the world by storm. It all began with Tom Tykwer and his infamous Run, Lola, Run which showed the way for many a prodigal self-made movie-maker and put Germany back onto the map of world cinema. What is more, their peculiar take on timeless questions of existence and social awareness opened up a whole new perspective in audiovisual arts. They aspire to bring the viewer closer to understanding the nature of things by sticking to human scales, cutting down on special effects and avoiding false-sounding, pretentious dialogues and proclamations. One could say they are down to earth, although visual fantasy does shine through a good couple of times.

Hans Weingarten's Edukators however, is balancing on the edge of full-blown idealism and the realm of common sense, and finds the perfect solution to let ourselves be seduced by the sensible and sensitive combination of the two.

Jan, Peter and Jule are young souls worn out by the controversies of modern-day life. They try to play the role of the catalyst in a society which is only driven by money and economic interests: they break and enter rich people's homes to make them feel uncomfortable with all their excessive valuables. But one day - amid rather unwanted circumstances - comes the inevitable question the three have to ask themselves: Is what they do not as selfish as rich folks' habits to collect antique furniture or vintage cars?

Edukators is an exciting piece, dealing with the exact same existential problems most of us have to deal with. Although shot with digital technique it remains enjoyable to watch. The filming locations were picked with an utterly good sense - not many times do you get to see the wonderful glacier lakes hidden in the Austrian Alps -, while cinematography is pure and unpretentious. It is all capped by the warm emotions the three young adults bring to the screen, and a captivating soundtrack. Superb.

If you thought German films were an acquired taste, go see this one. Great feel-good movie for a quit night. It will not disappoint.

awesome story for those who know, those who don't, and those who need to remember

[dreaddi · 10/10 · 19 April 2005]

I expected this movie to be good, and I was not disappointed. It's just the sort of movie we need in these times, with our apathetic, capitalist till death youth. It shows the ideals of revolutionaries of our times in a simple manner that people who aren't interested in politics and matters of the world can understand as well, whether they agree with them or not, and it also shows ways of dealing with these problems even if you're just a "small, insignificant" individual. Yes boys and girls, protests and revolutionary sabotage didn't stop in the seventies! I also love the way the three protagonists beat the stupid morals that almost broke them apart, and the open ending makes up for the slight unrealistic aspects that are also present at the finale. In short, this movie has everything - good acting, a gripping story and ideas that aren't new, but that people of today obviously need to be reminded of!