Some of you may remember the German film, “Der Baader Meinhof Komplex” by Uli Edel; a big-budgeted blockbuster (starring many notable German stars) about the early origins of the Red Army Faction, West Germany’s most violent and prominent militant left-wing anti-capitalist group that began in the late 1960s.
The film almost immediately lost all good will in cinema communities around the globe when the producers of the film — in a move that reeked of Hollywood blockbuster overestimation and self-importance — had the gall to make reporters sign waivers that said if they wrote about or reviewed the film before a certain time they would be sued into oblivion. Regardless of this ill-conceived embargo-fascism move, the film gained itself both a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film despite some poor early reviews, even on home turf.
We admit, as much as the producers demands were appalling (and we hoped it wouldn’t win any awards specifically because of that), we’re still pretty damn curious about the film and now comes word from Indiewire that Vitagraph Films will release the film stateside in August (“18 of the top 20 markets” evidently).
The cast is very solid: Martina Gedeck (“The Good Shepard,” “The Lives Of Others”), Moritz Bleibtreu (“Run Lola Run”), the great Bruno Ganz (“Downfall,” “Wings Of Desire”) and the gorgeous Alexandra Maria Lara (“Youth Without Youth,” “Control”). Here’s the trailer that we posted way back when (last September). We will say this: it can’t possibly be any worse than the 2008 Foreign Film winner. What a piece of treacly tripe that was.
Departures has to be one of the most surprising winners of the category thus far! Baader Meinhof Komplex was pretty good, intense and realistic. Waltz with Bashir should’ve won, though.