recommended

Masterful Movie

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

The ending, as I understood it, was not cheerful. The message found on the wall by the police, "Some people never change" is the conclusion. That applied to Herr Hardenburg and to the three Edukators. When Hardenburg had time to consider what to do in the quiet of his rearranged house, he reverted to his establishment, bourgeois self and called the police. He did not change, once he regained his footing in the world that was his before being kidnapped. Similarly, after having realized that what they did (kidnapping Hardenburg) was done not for idealistic reasons but to try to find a way to save themselves from prison, they did not give up their rather dangerous game. They simply moved to a new location from which to continue - or so I understood. As a dramatic work, I found it too blatant in its messages. It is not the work of a mature writer who allows his (or her) readers to realize what his theme is without making it a classroom of "Edukation". The acting was well done, and the drama was suspenseful. There was just no way of concluding such a story that would not have been tragic or unrealistic. The conclusion offered, a message on the wall, was probably the only other alternative.

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.

While the story kept my interest all throughout the movie, it still left a bitter taste in my mouth. The socialist crap those three youngsters were babbling all along was annoying. Unfortunately, the director is obviously on their side, because the only character who could have countered their opinions with facts and real experience was their kidnapping victim. But that poor fella just stays nice and is kind to them, for reasons not obvious enough to me (clearly he didn't want to get hurt, but once they are in nature's paradise, all three turn out to be quite tame). The victim never criticizes their childish and naive arguments, even though he was a guy who obviously was a "Been there, done that" (Generation 69, as people of his age are called when they were part of the Hippie and Protester Generation in Germany). It is true on the other hand that many people let go of their ideals along the way, and that adults settle all to quickly for the easy way. So the interaction during the kidnapping is quite intriguing. Spoiler coming: However, their conversations lead to nowhere, because not one character develops along the way, nobody shows a least a slight improvement. Or as the three characters state it delicately on a piece of paper: Some people never change. Sadly enough, Weingärtner didn't notice that the same accounts for his story telling and its lack of character development.

This film is excellent - just as good as Goodbye Lenin. I love the fact that Jule is facing a real dilemma and that Jan shows her a way to release that tension. I love the fact that the chemistry between the actors is good and you can believe that this is something real. I love the fact that Peter and Jan brake into the "rich" people's houses but not to steal just to move their furniture is a great idea. Makes people realize that no matter how much money you have or the hight of security that you may have gotten you can always be brought back to reality by others. I enjoyed this film so much that it made me start to learn German again. This is defiantly a must see film. Great way to show a different way of life compared to "society's" way of life.