Die Welle (2008)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Dennis Gansel

Writers:

Dennis Gansel (writer)
Todd Strasser (novel)

Release Date:

13 March 2008 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A high school teacher's unusual experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit with a life of its own. |

Plot Keywords:

High School Teacher | Vandalism | Fascism | Uniform | Gun

Awards:

3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Jürgen Vogel	...	Rainer Wenger
Frederick Lau	...	Tim Stoltefuss
Max Riemelt	...	Marco
Jennifer Ulrich	...	Karo
Christiane Paul	...	Anke Wenger
Jacob Matschenz	...	Dennis
Cristina do Rego	...	Lisa
Elyas M'Barek	...	Sinan
Maximilian Vollmar	...	Bomber
Max Mauff	...	Kevin (as Maximilian Mauff)
Ferdinand Schmidt-Modrow	...	Ferdi
Tim Oliver Schultz	...	Jens
Amelie Kiefer	...	Mona
Fabian Preger	...	Kaschi
Odine Johne	...	Maja

Also Known As:

The Wave (USA)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Czech Republic:12 | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:11 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-15 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Rat Pack Filmproduktion GmbH

Trivia:

Based on the novel "The Wave" by Todd Strasser (under the pen name Morton Rhue), a fictionalized account of the "Third Wave" teaching experiment by Ron Jones that took place in a Cubberley High School history class in Palo Alto, California in April 1967.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: (At 57:15) The teacher is formally called Rainer Wenger, although informally he uses his first name is Rainer, among his students initially and later his surname during the project, Wenger. One might think the principal would use his first name when talking to him, but in Germany when adult colleagues speak to each other, they use their last name when talking to each other, i.e. Herr Wenger.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Wave (1981) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Rock & Roll Queen

A wonderful and moving film that had me gripped throughout. Absolutely brilliant.

This is a wonderful film with a superb screenplay and direction and great acting from its mainly young cast. I felt myself being drawn into the film in the same way as Mr Wenger's students were being drawn into his 'experiment'. The drama unfolds relatively slowly at first, but with gathering momentum and consequences. There is also a very moving portrayal of some of the tensions produced within some of the romantic pairings as well as the extreme anguish caused in one student by his heightened susceptibility. I think the depth to which personal relationships and social groupings are explored make this into much more of a fascinating drama than an exercise in the condemning of fascism. Please don't be put off by the subtitles. I can't recommend this film too highly.