The Wave

They could’ve gone a step further with such a strong and compelling topic and stayed at the school desk and avoid dragging it into “everyday life" (I think the debate scenes in the classroom during the first two days of the project are the most powerful part of the movie). But it does fulfil the purpose of being disturbing while not being tedious to a t and, considering it is not exactly a picture where “you forget what it was about the minute the credits stop rolling", it actually works out perfectly. I just envisioned it would be more theoretical. La resistance! (25/01/2009)

An interesting film, in many ways similar to American History X, mainly because it can easily serve as a film intended to be shown in schools and can be contemplated and discussed during civics lessons. Unfortunately, just like its American sibling, it suffers from simplification and schematism, which detracts from its persuasiveness and authenticity. I do not diminish the impact of The Wave and what it wants to convey, as it does so clearly and effectively. But in reality, it wouldn't work like this. The point is that a similar pathological process could occur somewhere in a closed community without access to the media and disruptive influences of relatives, friends, and state power. The present time does not favor totalitarian ideologies based on mass participation at all, because it is highly atomized due to the information explosion and the ubiquitous influence of the media. These students are of different nationalities, religions, and cultures, and the cohesive element is harder to find than in the 1930s. Moreover, the film directed by Dennis Gansel suffers from the overblown ending with the smell of gunpowder and iron on the hands. It is probably because the message to teenagers had to be as powerful as possible, but in this case, less would have been more. Overall impression: 65%. (05/05/2011)

The answer to every action is a reaction! When you irritate a bee, it stings you! If you drink poison, you get poisoned! If you want to "play" dictatorship, you have to watch this distinctive German-produced film. In many ways, especially in terms of atmosphere, The Wave reminded me of the Estonian film The Class, which may be why I wasn't as satisfied at the end as I originally wanted to be. But I can still highly recommend it. In short, as the saying goes, everyone must suffer the consequences of their actions. (19/11/2011)

Finally our school sent us to watch a good film. The manipulation of the students to turn them into fanatics is shown very fast to meet the needs of the 100 minute runtime, but it still fulfils its purpose. The wave is not surprising, the outcome is predictable almost from the beginning, but the last five minutes or so are quite intense. (07/11/2008)

A great movie about the fact that a well-intentioned idea in the hands of well-intentioned people can go beyond the imaginable. The uneasy feeling from all this is amplified by the fact that the story itself takes place in Germany, and we all know how far this was taken by the Germans. However, it's not about the nation but about the people. You just need to find the right ones and it turns into a problem from which it's hard to find a way back. WW2 was supposed to be a lesson for everyone, and this movie shows on a smaller scale that there are still people with the right idea for the right people. 4 stars. (11/01/2012)