The Baader Meinhof Complex
Dir: Uli Edel
2008
****
Uli Edel has been quite clever in the way he has structured his telling of the The Red Army Faction (RAF) story, a group that organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s. It would have been easy to start with the prison scenes and then have flashbacks of how they got there, thus leaving the action until later in the film. He doesn't do this though, the story happens as it happens, the action occurring towards the beginning of the film. This did help in explaining the reality of what happens under these circumstances and took away the 'glamour' of being a 'revolutionist', for want of a better word/s. I can see how people have lost interest due towards the end but it helps with telling the story properly and by keeping the story balanced. The film really highlights the wrongs made on both sides rather than the rights of anyone. Stylishly told with some great performances.