The Baader-Meinhof Complex
As a rule, movies portraying historical events and personages are at best poorly presented, and at worst little more than deceptive propaganda. Even enjoyable historical movies -- such as Patton, for instance -- are full of factual errors and scenes justified as "artistic license." Knowing this for truth, I began viewing The Baader-Meinhof Complex with what could charitably be called a healthy dose of skepticism. I was to be very pleasantly surprised.
A bit of back-story is probably in order before getting into the review, since the subject matter, while not exactly obscure, is somewhat esoteric. If you are unfamiliar with the Red Army Faction terrorist group, you may read up on it here. In brief, it was an ultra-violent group of left wing "revolutionaries" in Germany during the late 1960s and 70s. While it persisted into the 80s, it was during the preceding decade that the group was most prominent. When I joined the U.S. military in the mid 80s, the Red Army Faction was held up as the example of why terrorists should be taken seriously as a military threat. Many of the anti-terrorism tactics and counter-terrorism practices formulated in the 1980s were directly based upon attacks successfully perpetrated by the RAF.
Mostly home-grown in Germany, there was never a proven direct link between the RAF and any of the various Soviet agitprop organizations -- though certain members were known to have trained in camps in Arabian states which were sponsored by the Soviets. One of the unique aspects of the RAF, which stands in incongruity next to their infamous ultra-violent attacks, is the large percentage of female members; some estimates put the ratio as high as 50%, (although if you've ever really pissed off your Better Half, perhaps this doesn't seem quite so incongruous to you).
With that background in mind, I highly recommend you watch The Baader-Meinhof Complex. The movie is filmed in a very objective manner; there is no Hollywood-ization here, as it was made in Germany by Germans -- and is in fact auf Deutsch, so most American viewers will be reading subtitles. The characters are presented honestly and "as-is"; this is particularly refreshing in light of that irritating habit of the American media (which includes Hollywood) to "soften the edges" of communist figures. The members of the RAF are portrayed as what they really were: thugs hiding behind the veil of communist revolutionary thought, more interested in fomenting anarchy than in sparking revolution. They were simply cowards who hid behind the shield provided by democratic states, exploiting tolerance and returning the favor with sabotage and murder. Such people are no more brilliant political thinkers than Tiger Woods is a good husband.
It is also interesting to see how the so-called revolutionaries decry the Democratic government as "fascists" and a resurgence of Nazism. Yet these self-declared protectors show no qualms in using the tactics of the Brown Shirts against industrialists and political leaders. One may make an argument that the leaders of the RAF were so self-absorbed, they couldn't view their own actions objectively, which does not excuse the fact that they were nothing more or less than murdering thugs -- a common disease amongst communist revolutionaries.
Of equal interest is the fact that the movie does not shy away from pointing out the huge swell of communist sympathy emanating from western universities of the period. It clearly shows this as a key trigger in creating groups such as the Red Army Faction. There is an early scene where a number of monarchical Iranian students, (or "Persians," as they are referred to in the movie), attack a protest group of leftist German students -- while the German police simply watch and smile. While such draconian behavior on the part of the state was undeniably a factor in creating groups like the RAF, it must be placed into context of time and place in order to be understood.
Germany of that period was a hotbed of Soviet insurgency. They knew, as did the United States, that the only practical way into Western Europe was through Germany. Whether the Soviets were actively encouraging the academic fascination with communism is a matter of debate, and far too large a topic for this review. But consider: the German police and soldiers had to deal with that reality -- and the reality of several thousand Soviet tanks just across the Czech border -- every day of their lives. How kindly would you view communist agitators in such circumstances? It's one thing to grow up during the Cold War with an ocean separating you from the Red Menace; it's another matter altogether to live a hundred miles from the flashpoint.
The Baader-Meinhof Complex accomplishes something very rare in the movie world: it presents a highly entertaining perspective on a series of very controversial historical events, and it does it without getting preachy or taking a political position. For that, it gets five Jarheads.
A couple of things to consider while watching the movie:
First, watch for the scene where the German police commissioner's lieutenant asks him what motivates the Red Army Faction. His response is the most succinct description of communism I've ever heard.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, keep this in your mind: Andreas Baader was the German equivalent of William Ayers, the "unacknowledged" mentor of the current occupant of the Oval Office. The difference between the German and U.S. responses to these threats is... instructive.
A bit of back-story is probably in order before getting into the review, since the subject matter, while not exactly obscure, is somewhat esoteric. If you are unfamiliar with the Red Army Faction terrorist group, you may read up on it here. In brief, it was an ultra-violent group of left wing "revolutionaries" in Germany during the late 1960s and 70s. While it persisted into the 80s, it was during the preceding decade that the group was most prominent. When I joined the U.S. military in the mid 80s, the Red Army Faction was held up as the example of why terrorists should be taken seriously as a military threat. Many of the anti-terrorism tactics and counter-terrorism practices formulated in the 1980s were directly based upon attacks successfully perpetrated by the RAF.
Mostly home-grown in Germany, there was never a proven direct link between the RAF and any of the various Soviet agitprop organizations -- though certain members were known to have trained in camps in Arabian states which were sponsored by the Soviets. One of the unique aspects of the RAF, which stands in incongruity next to their infamous ultra-violent attacks, is the large percentage of female members; some estimates put the ratio as high as 50%, (although if you've ever really pissed off your Better Half, perhaps this doesn't seem quite so incongruous to you).
With that background in mind, I highly recommend you watch The Baader-Meinhof Complex. The movie is filmed in a very objective manner; there is no Hollywood-ization here, as it was made in Germany by Germans -- and is in fact auf Deutsch, so most American viewers will be reading subtitles. The characters are presented honestly and "as-is"; this is particularly refreshing in light of that irritating habit of the American media (which includes Hollywood) to "soften the edges" of communist figures. The members of the RAF are portrayed as what they really were: thugs hiding behind the veil of communist revolutionary thought, more interested in fomenting anarchy than in sparking revolution. They were simply cowards who hid behind the shield provided by democratic states, exploiting tolerance and returning the favor with sabotage and murder. Such people are no more brilliant political thinkers than Tiger Woods is a good husband.
It is also interesting to see how the so-called revolutionaries decry the Democratic government as "fascists" and a resurgence of Nazism. Yet these self-declared protectors show no qualms in using the tactics of the Brown Shirts against industrialists and political leaders. One may make an argument that the leaders of the RAF were so self-absorbed, they couldn't view their own actions objectively, which does not excuse the fact that they were nothing more or less than murdering thugs -- a common disease amongst communist revolutionaries.
Of equal interest is the fact that the movie does not shy away from pointing out the huge swell of communist sympathy emanating from western universities of the period. It clearly shows this as a key trigger in creating groups such as the Red Army Faction. There is an early scene where a number of monarchical Iranian students, (or "Persians," as they are referred to in the movie), attack a protest group of leftist German students -- while the German police simply watch and smile. While such draconian behavior on the part of the state was undeniably a factor in creating groups like the RAF, it must be placed into context of time and place in order to be understood.
Germany of that period was a hotbed of Soviet insurgency. They knew, as did the United States, that the only practical way into Western Europe was through Germany. Whether the Soviets were actively encouraging the academic fascination with communism is a matter of debate, and far too large a topic for this review. But consider: the German police and soldiers had to deal with that reality -- and the reality of several thousand Soviet tanks just across the Czech border -- every day of their lives. How kindly would you view communist agitators in such circumstances? It's one thing to grow up during the Cold War with an ocean separating you from the Red Menace; it's another matter altogether to live a hundred miles from the flashpoint.
The Baader-Meinhof Complex accomplishes something very rare in the movie world: it presents a highly entertaining perspective on a series of very controversial historical events, and it does it without getting preachy or taking a political position. For that, it gets five Jarheads.
A couple of things to consider while watching the movie:
First, watch for the scene where the German police commissioner's lieutenant asks him what motivates the Red Army Faction. His response is the most succinct description of communism I've ever heard.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, keep this in your mind: Andreas Baader was the German equivalent of William Ayers, the "unacknowledged" mentor of the current occupant of the Oval Office. The difference between the German and U.S. responses to these threats is... instructive.
posted by Jar(egg)head at 12:33
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