Provocative movie about how quickly most of us can become part of a cult or fascist group. Didn't like first 10 minutes of film, but then engaged us. Good movie for kids 10+ and adults - and for good group discussion.

good german film as starter and has an idea

Wow. Que concepto mas interesante e innovador la verdad... Si bien me hubiera gustado saber que le pasaba en la cabeza al profesor Wenger, es una película bastante disfrutable. La recomiendo muchísimo.

Como ocorre a criação e o desenvolvimento de um regime ditatorial e fascista? Esse excelente filme mostra uma das possíveis formas e o resultado, obviamente, é catastrófico.

Your school provides a week-long project seminar class dedicated to different government types. You choose the class labeled autocracy, which is the system of government in which absolute power is given to one person. During the week, a cult-like group forms between classmates, laws are broken, and the week ends in the pain, agony, and death. This is essentially what audience members watching Die Welle (translated to The Wave), an amazing German sociopolitical thriller, experience. Directed by Dennis Gansel and produced by Christian Becker, Die Welle captivates audiences by posing an insightful answer to the question, "Can an autocratic regime be established in Germany?" The world has suffered relentlessly throughout history under power driven dictators. Trying to wrap your head around how a fascist society would spring up in modern day Germany appalls many. Since World War II, the Germanic society has included many classes and lessons to try and keep autocratic ideals away. Die Welle challenges this by introducing fascist systems in a classroom setting - a social experiment to prove the doubting students wrong. This intrigues the audience by introducing the new concept they may not have thought about, which stimulates curiosity and bounds the viewer's eyes to the screen. It's further expanded upon when the cult-like organization that builds between the classmates begins to stray from their original ideals. They become elitists, which drives the audience to see the changes that can occur to people when they feel like they have power. In the movie, some characters establish hardcore beliefs for the system they are creating, which alludes to the Nazi party. This added spark of controversy keeps the viewer engaged and wondering what the class is going to end up doing. In order to show the differences between the populations that protested against the Nazi regime and the Third Reich enthusiast, Gansel appoints a character to represent each. Tim Stoltefuss throws his previous life away. He becomes so enthralled into The Wave project that he rids his life of anything that doesn't pertain to what he learns or gains during that week. This includes the burning of his clothes and buying a gun. This makes the audience wonder just how far he will go for the purpose of The Wave. In contrast, we see Karo, who is heavily against anything that had to do with the class. She tries whatever can do, including writing messages on forums, throwing fliers out at a sporting event, and even confronting the oblivious teacher who had no idea the negative impact he was having on his students. These extreme differences in views creates sides for the viewers to pick. They start rooting for one side and keeps the attention of them as the week escalates into the formidable ending. In creating a remarkable Dennis Gansel brings our attention in by exposing us to questions and answers we had yet to ponder. By creating scenario that involves tough subjects, Gansel keeps his hold on our curiosity by testing our own morality to choose sides and experience the movie in a personal manner. Die Welle is an excellent example of how to introduce political topics we try to stray away from - by exploiting our curiosity and morality.

Muy interesante, trata ideas centrales de un régimen facista y autoritario de una manera clara. Nos pone a reflexionar de lo fácil que es ser engañados por a demagogia.

Strong piece of German cinema and display of great acting skills. A must-watch.

Eventos numa escola secundária na Califórnia em 1967 são a inspiração para esta história sobre um professor (Jürgen Vogel) que, durante uma semana, nas aulas de Autocracia, começa uma experiência social que põe à prova o apelo dos ideais fascistas. A narrativa ganha um interesse particular por sair dos Estados Unidos e se recolocar na Alemanha contemporânea. "Os Nazis não prestam, nós percebemos!", exclama um dos alunos. Mas o professor tem uma missão a cumprir e, de forma a motivar os alunos para a matéria, começa uma pequena ditadura dentro da sala de aula. Lentamente, os pensamentos da turma começam a uniformizar-se, com a resistência de poucos. Segue-se um nome de grupo, um logótipo, um cumprimento próprio e, de forma quase inocente, a situação começa a ficar fora de controlo. Com um argumento escrito por Johnny Dawkins e Ron Birnbach, The Wave tem uma premissa fascinante que consegue ilustrar a permeabilidade dos mais jovens e a procura humana por uma causa comum. "O que falta à nossa geração é a falta de um objetivo comum", refere outro aluno, e The Wave (nome do grupo, escolhido pela turma) proporciona isso mesmo: Um motivo de união, uma causa, um refúgio de quem mais carece de amor e atenção. Dentro das interpretações, o destaque vai para Jürgen Vogel, o professor de espírito livre que se deixa levar pelos seu métodos pouco pedagógicos, e para o jovem Frederick Lau, com um papel que exemplifica o porquê dos professores serem figuras tão importantes na sociedade. De forma geral, as performances são competentes, ainda que o argumento por vezes não dedique a atenção necessária aos papéis secundários e recorra a estereótipos para caracterizar as personagens. O filme desenrolasse a bom ritmo, ainda que a mudança dos alunos do ceticismo para apoio incondicional do professor seja um pouco apressado. O diálogo é conciso, o que ajuda o filme a entreter à medida que vai deixando a sua mensagem pelas entrelinhas. Peca, contudo, na sua imprevisibilidade, ainda que o clímax coloque o ponto de exclamação que The Wave necessitava para apelar à reflexão. A ironia da história perde importância enquanto o filme do realizador Dennis Gansel dedica-se a mostrar-nos até onde é que a situação pode chegar. Pode não ser uma experiência muito imersiva em termos cinematográficos, mas é uma produção alemã que faz um comentário social e político provocador, ilustrando devidamente os perigos da autocracia. 7/10

The birth of fascism and a return to the times of Hitler is just a breath away !!!

Makes you feel sorry for the characters but the target is not the right one. This is a liberal's little dream - just as unbelievable as their promise. It is obvious that they're taking this against Nazi Deutschland, whilst suffering from the same mistake the liberals always suffer from - disregarding the goal and reason. 2/5 for the development, acting and soundtrack.

Die Welle Wat vond ik ervan? De film Die welle(2008) is de tweede film gebaseerd op een project uit 1967 door Ron Jones (geschiedenis leraar) die met zijn project uit probeerde te leggen hoe het ''nazisme'' in Duitsland begon. De gene die dit project uitvoert is (in de film) '' Rainer Wenger" hij legt de klas uit dat zij gaan kijken of een dictatuur nu nog mogelijk is,ze moeten dus een dictator kiezen er is eigenlijk niemand die hun wilt lijden dus wordt hun dictator Rainer, hierom wilt hij dat ze hem in plaats van Rainer "Hehr Wenger" gaan noemen. Het project begint vervolgens en heeft al snel positieve gevolgen, mensen doen aardiger,halen hogere cijfers enz. Op de tweede dag dragen ze een passende outfit en moeten zij een naam kiezen ze kiezen "Die Welle"(de golf) vervolgens kiezen zij een logo, dit wordt een golf natuurlijk! Steeds meer mensen gaan bij "Die Welle". Aan het einde van de tweede dag gaan een antal mensen die bij "Die Welle" horen op muren logo's van hun groep spuiten.een groep mensen vinden dat "Die Welle" te ver gaat en proberen het af te sluiten door negatieve brieven door de school te hangen. Op de derde dag hebben zij een groet bedacht voor de groep.Op de vierde dag is een water polo wedstrijd van een van de leden van "Die Welle" waar vrijwel iedereen van "Die Welle" komt kijken en wie niet bij "Die Welle"hoort mocht niet kijken (als je bij het andere team hoorde wel),twee van de "Die Welle" haters proberen de wedstrijd te zien maar worden tegen gehouden, om een of andere reden gaan ze dan onder het gebouw door ofzo(ik snap ook niet waarom) en komen uit eindelijk bij de wedstrijd. Ze beslissen vervolgens om "Anti-Welle (C)" brieven op de mensen te gooien als protest?Ik snap ook niet waarom.Vervolgens besluit het water polo team om lekker te vechten tegen elkaar en wordt de wedstrijd afgelast. Die avond stuurd "Hehr Wenger" iedereen een bericht om de volgende dag allemaal naar een preek van hem te luisteren. Hij praat erover hoe ze de wereld gaan over nemen en laat zo zien dat een dictatuur dus wel nog mogelijk is en sluit het project af. Vervolgens gebeurt er iets met een van de hoofdperson(ja er is nog een gedeelte van het verhaal waar ik niet over heb gepraat omdat je anders de film niet hoeft te kijken) en wordt Rainer opgepakt. EINDE. De film komt wel wat overeen met wat er echt gebeurd is ,maar niet helemaal, hier zijn wat verschillen: 1.Er waren geen verwondingen of zelfmoord of wat dan ook,de film is dus zwaar overdreven. 2. de hoofd personen (waar ik dus niet over heb gepraat) hebben waarschijnlijk geen eens bestaan. 3.Het was 1967! Er waren nog geen computers of telefoons (de eerste ''echte'' pc kwam rond 1980 uit) 4.Het gebeurde in AMERIKA niet Duitsland! 5.Het werd op de vierde dag gestopt in plaats van de vijfde. Met andere woorden:het is dus veel bij verzonnen,maar is dat erg? Nee natuurlijk niet! Als het daad werkelijk een verfilming van "no Substitute for Madness "(het boek geschreven door Jones) zou zijn,dan zou het veel saaier zijn. Met andere woorden,ik vind het top dat het niet compleet reëel is! Ik geef deze film een 7.5 omdat het ondanks dat het afwijkt van wat er echt gebeurd is toch een hele leuk film is met interessante en verschillende hoofd/bij personen er is ook eigenlijk geen punt in de film geweest dat ik echt saai vond.

A stunning, mind-blowing and unforgettable film

WORST MOVIE EVER! Hired this and the actors had the most generic voiceovers that were way out of sync. Very strange and highly distracting from the movie. Could literally only handle less than a minute of this.

Though certain parts are highly implausible, this film has brilliant acting and fantastic direction.

Wow! SO interesting what a group can accomplish. And yet so scary for what a group can accomplish. I don't like closed caption movies, and usually will never watch them. The idea of this movie had me interested enough that I decided to give it a whirl and am very happy I did. It held me captivated! The acting was spot on and just very brilliantly done.

4.3/5 As clever and smart as it could possibly be, and with the perfect performances toppled with beautiful and heartfelt directing, The Wave is one of those great stories that the film medium was invented for.

One of the braver attempts by the Berlin School to come to terms with their country's own history, especially in its assertion that fascism could rise again. The plotting is tight and, for a cast populated almost entirely with young people, the performances are satisfyingly on point.

Great idea but flawed execution. The central plot of The Wave was a good one. A teacher is teaching his class on autocracy, so decides to get them to behave as if in an autocracy. Within a short space of time he unintentionally creates a fascist sect. The implementation, however, is less good. Characters are badly formed, and are often extreme. The teacher is a one-dimensional hippy, trying to be cool and getting his students to like him. Some of the kids are too ridiculous to be real, eg the kid who is always making silly jokes and pranks without any repercussions. Some scenes just go nowhere, and/or are badly thought-out. Some of it is plain unrealistic. The ending is fairly predictable. In between there are moments of true profundity, especially as you can draw parallels between the sect and actual fascist groups in history, especially the Nazis. However, even these moments are diluted by not following through with the parallels. Overall, worth seeing, but could have been so much better. A tighter script, better developed characters, a bit more thought into the sub-plots and scenes, a more profound and unexpected conclusion. For a great exploration of a social experiment gone wrong, and a group as a microcosm of society, rather see The Experiment / Das Experiment. The 2010 US remake isn't too bad either but the original German version, made in 2001, is brilliant.

Liked the ideas but something was missing

A high school class forms an autocratic movement led by their teacher as part of a lesson in autocracy, but things go awry when the movement starts to take on a life of its own. This is a fascinating film which explores the potential of fascism in modern Germany. Though it's presented in a very small scale here, the message clearly comes across. The movie's actually based on a real class experiment done in a California high school back in the 60s. Good thing the real thing's outcome is nowhere near as disastrous as it was in the film.