Die Welle

German films tend to be hit or miss for me; that is to say, I cannot think of a single German film I have been ambivalent or apathetic about. I love them or hate them, with little room between. I am lucky, then, that this would be one of the films to love.

Die Welle (or, in English, The Wave), explores autocracy (and not necessarily Third Reich autocracy, though that is certainly a shadow over the film) in a high school context, which works marvellously, without simplifying the issue. Instead, the subject is handled deftly, with loaded dialogue, and even more so loaded concepts.

Die Welle doesn't buckle under the pressure of the concepts it explores, and while occasionally the film seems a little obvious, a little heavy-handed, that is likely because we, as a society, have spent so much time discussing these issues. That doesn't make Die Welle less important; in fact, its fresh take on the issue is perhaps even more important in light of the ham-fisted efforts that precede it.

4/5