The Wave

The Wave-720P

The Wave-480P

Moviecut—The Wave

This movie is so pathetic. There are so many gaps and non sense actions. I'm so disappointed with it, since I've consulted IMDb before watching. What was the point to create rage in a common sense that could make all the classmates united to fight for the same reason? There is no rage, there is no sadness, nothing! There is a moment where it just looks like a teenager TV program, when classmates go out spreading their mark around the city, and there is no fear of consequences, the old fashioned and cool goofy guard who runs near but can't catch anybody and all the Hi five. Well, I have no balls for such a kind of movie. Don't waste your time here, look for another title.

OK, it's always difficult to watch a movie, when you know the book/story. And its more difficult with this special story, especially in Germany. Why is the book so famous here? It may have to do with the fact, that the original story demonstrates that fascism itself is not in the German genome, but could happen anywhere, even in hippie-esquire California.... Now, keeping that in mind and knowing that "Die Welle" was forced in book form upon generations of German students, what can we say about the movie? To me, the movie simply doesn't work as a film. Once you have recognized the point (immediately, if you know the book), the movie becomes too obvious in its pedagogical agenda, the characters act way too stereotypically, the whole thing basically becomes incredible. the only things that work are the sidelines (Tim, who finds a sense in his live when everybody is made equal, the slight drama of jealousy), and, in fact, the ending. These are the only things that are not completely predictable, and that do not tend to point a finger at the audience, trying to teach them. I don't agree with many comments that say the movie let's you thinking why the wave is bad, even if it has positive effects on community members at times. This is inherent to fascist communities, not to this very movie. In fact, the movie doesn't want you to think, it's always pointing at the bad side! Only exception here - see above: SPOILER: In the end, you are at times really tempted to believe that the movie left the book behind (it did after all), and that Wenger (the teacher) might have gone over to really become the fascist leader he depicted before (he didn't) END SPOILER Anyway, if you want to see an entertaining movie about group pressure getting out of hands and going terribly astray - watch "Das Experiment" - now that's what I call a movie! m.

This is a German film (subtitled) about a school project looking at autocracy (a la Nazi Germany). In order for the teacher to persuade his pupils that autocracy remains a real threat to democracy, he persuades them to take part in a class dictatorship. The key difference between this and your average school classroom is that he convinces the pupils not just to obey but also to want his every command. Of course the project turns bad and things get scary. What I liked about the film was that it did not treat the pupils as "just kids"; they had brains, opinions, and their own ethics too. It is not a very black and white in it's opinion, you could draw some distinct opinion from the film but I suggest that there are several different opinions that are equally as valid. It keeps you guessing what is going to happen & even deliberately misleads you.

The original "Wave"-story sounds like a modern scary tale for very gullible kids. It is somewhat based on actual events and this movie is based on that story. It's a lot like those urban legends that use the "It really happened"-excuse to tell very improbable horror stories. The absurd plot: With very simple means a group of today's teenagers is turned into "fascists". "Die Welle" doesn't even start to try proving any plausibility, it doesn't give us understandable motivations or logic. It's just selling us it's thesis as a fact - because "It really happened, you know?" The story of "Die Welle" is much too ridiculous to be told. A teacher is taking a class on autocracy. He asks if such a regime would still be possible. His pupils - quite dysfunctional and egocentric, also quite rich kids - don't think so. He is going to prove them wrong. He starts to build his own autocratic society with them by telling them to stand up before they answer his questions. And they are all like: "Wow! That gives me so much power! I can really breathe deeply!" I kid you not. He doesn't teach them anything about autocracy, about the historical, political, social context that make it possible. It's all about formalities, about white shirts and sitting pretty (and probably getting grades for it). Of course the - obviously very "special" - pupils don't get their teacher's intention, they don't realize that this is a role play and just try to stay in character. No, they are really into it. In the end things are getting so stupid, it's actually hilariously funny. The growing "evilness" of the Wave, the new Sophie Scholl's "heroic" leaflet campaign ... and the teacher's / leader's big speech. Now - for the first time! - there has to be some content. Will he give us - out of nowhere - an enemy, some hate? Nope. He only delivers some lame clichés about rich people getting richer and a bunch of rich kids go wild applauding the idea that they are going to change this all over "Deutschland!". Totally inane, therefore funny. How could anybody take this movie seriously? Yet most reviewers do. And that's not funny. Not funny at all. Reading this reviews will tell you the political context of "Die Welle" and it's this context that turns this silly urban legend movie into an annoying piece of political propaganda. It's only one wave in a big sea of similar waves, but if you can't see it for what it is, you're probably drowning right now. No, really, you shouldn't like this junk. Everyone so devoid of critical thinking that he mistakes advertisement or propaganda for the real thing is very prone to fall victim to any totalitarian scheme. It's the good thing about propaganda that the "hidden" agenda has to be very obvious. So what are we supposed to buy? There is so much fascism in this world. Wearing school uniforms, following orders, working in a concentrated manner, joining groups - all this things will turn you into vicious murderous beasts. Your political and social environment doesn't matter. It can happen all the time, everywhere. It never does, but it could! Be afraid of a phantom menace! It's inside yourself! Be afraid, be very much afraid of yourself! Calling this scare-mongering left-wing propaganda is as ahistorical as "Die Welle" itself. If you have to watch this bland movie, you should pay attention to the "Wave's" counter-concept. Who benefits from herds of dysfunctional, stereotypical "anarchists"? And for the true believers: The Wave regulations had been totally normal in classrooms all around the globe at least until the 1970s. In many schools they still are. They've turned your ancestors into autocratic drones. I hope you didn't know that. Please consult your local "anarchist".

Booooring. Can't say I didn't see it coming though. Movies and messages, they don't go together well. The fact that the script is, according to the opening credits, based on a "true story", doesn't make it any more plausible, or enjoyable. It's also a false pretense. The screenwriter may have borrowed from the (widely publicized) incident recorded by novelist Todd Strasser. But fact is there are no stories in real life. There are only events and experience. Life doesn't tell stories; they are the prerogative of art. But art is something that's painfully absent from this movie. Perhaps its only strong point is a gang of preteen hoodlums in knitwear caps who look and talk exactly like pint-sized versions of Silent Bob's chatty buddy Jay. Good type-casting in general: the doll-faced eager beaver, the slick rich kid, the clown, the geek with a conscience, and the princess all ring true. But the way they act and talk doesn't. Educational film-flam that is bound to bore generations of students at school screenings.

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.

While "Die Welle" is obviously aimed at teenagers (I believe the book is a set text in Germany), it suffers greatly from appearing to have been written by teenagers. As I watched the implausible changes in mood of a disparate bunch of middle-class kids towards a uniformed regiment, I remembered the bollockings my English teacher would give me about the fundamentals of narrative. Show the children's reactions by all means, but at least have the courtesy to show us how these reactions came to be. The movement had no obvious constitution or ideology, and there was not even the merest hint that anyone had explored their reasons for joining or sustaining the movement. If I had been reading the script, I would have been wondering where all the missing pages went. Since the film-makers didn't bother explaining why "Die Welle" was fundamentally different from any other High School clique, the entire movie becomes a shiny, empty waste of time. What really annoyed me most about "Die Welle" were the actions of Tim the loner at the end of the show. It was only a matter of time before he went tonto; the experiment had little to contribute to his violent actions. I watched this on BBC Four, late on Sunday night; I was expecting at least a dark thriller or a well-crafted examination of la condition humaine, but instead was presented with a hundred minutes' worth of teenagers being teenagers. If you haven't seen this movie, please don't bother; you can learn much more about the teenager's psyche by reading "Lord of the Flies" and "The Wasp Factory".