I saw The Baader Meinhof Complex tonight. The thing that got remarked on the most amongst the people I saw it with was how long it was, which I actually liked, because the Red Army Faction went on for longer than they probably should have had any expectation to in real life as well.
I compare it favorably with Bonnie and Clyde, with which it shares similar themes (and Wikipedia told me Andreas Baader compared himself to Clyde Barrow, so hey). There were times its length bogged it down a little bit, but in general I liked the way it depicted the original group and their changing reactions to the RAF as it gradually slipped out of their control, becoming more (and more pointlessly) violent and reactionary. Like Bonnie and Clyde, it tricks you into identifying with its protagonists - it *always* looks fun as hell to shoot guns out of car windows on the streets of Berlin while “My Generation” is playing - before things turn uncontrollably bloody and uncomfortable.
It doesn’t feel coincidental that the penultimate scene is set in Baghdad, and I don’t think American audiences can help but draw parallels between this and what’s happening in the Middle East now (something the film encourages, with the PLO and Black September cameos). In that respect I think it’s essential viewing, both because it’s an interesting historical moment by itself and it’s instructive about the roots of terrorism and what makes people identify with it.
You should read this New York Times review, though, because it states the case better than I do.
(image via the frequently-interesting three frames)
