Die Welle (2008)

English title: The Wave.

A teacher seeking for higher status in the school where he works devises an experiment with his students wherein they become members of a group under the leadership of said teacher.

The teacher as fascist (compare Madadayo). There are some who have criticized the shallowness of what they see as the film's political statement. They are probably right to the extent that every work of art does carry a little bit of ideology within itself, and this film is really not very deep. But on the other hand, a fiction work is mostly just that, and no character or utterance within it may be said to speak for its author or authors. The Wave is reasonably well constructed in narrative terms, and it does shed some light on collective human processes, but that's all it does. Anyone who wants more depth should read books.

Rating: 54