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''The Edukators'' (german: Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei) is a 2004
crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
film directed by the Austrian director
Hans Weingartner Hans Weingartner (born 2 November 1977)Reiter, Barbara (July 24, 2018).Regisseur Hans Weingartner: 'Am liebsten würde ich komplett verschwinden'. ''Kurier''. kurier.at. Retrieved September 16, 2019. is an author, director and producer of films. Bo ...
. A co-production between Germany and Austria, it stars
Daniel Brühl Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo (; born 16 June 1978) is a Spanish-German actor and filmmaker. He received his first German Film Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' Das Weisse Rauschen (The White Sound)'' (2001), ''Nichts ...
, Stipe Erceg, and
Julia Jentsch Julia Jentsch (born 20 February 1978) is a German actress. She has received awards including the Silver Bear, European Film Award, and Lola. She is best known for ''Sophie Scholl – The Final Days'', '' The Edukators'' and ''I Served the King of ...
as three young, anti-capitalist Berlin activists involved in a love triangle. The friends, calling themselves "the Edukators", invade upper-class houses, rearrange the furniture, and leave notes identifying themselves. Weingartner, a former activist, wrote the film based on his experiences and chose to use nonviolent characters. The film, shot in Berlin and Austria with digital hand-held cameras, was made on a low budget which Weingartner said kept the focus on the acting. First shown at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
on 17 May 2004 and released in its home countries later that year, ''The Edukators'' was praised by critics and audiences. It grossed more than US$8 million worldwide and received a number of awards and nominations. It did, however, receive criticism mainly for its political statements and also for its long running time. It has become a
cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
, part of a "German New Wave", and the inspiration for real-life actions and a 2013 stage adaptation in Brazil.


Plot

Set in 2004, the film revolves around three young
anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economi ...
activists in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
's city centre: Jule (
Julia Jentsch Julia Jentsch (born 20 February 1978) is a German actress. She has received awards including the Silver Bear, European Film Award, and Lola. She is best known for ''Sophie Scholl – The Final Days'', '' The Edukators'' and ''I Served the King of ...
), her boyfriend Peter ( Stipe Erceg) and his best friend Jan (
Daniel Brühl Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo (; born 16 June 1978) is a Spanish-German actor and filmmaker. He received his first German Film Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' Das Weisse Rauschen (The White Sound)'' (2001), ''Nichts ...
). Jule is a waitress struggling to pay off a €100,000 debt she incurred a year ago when she crashed into a
Mercedes-Benz S-Class The Mercedes-Benz S-Class, formerly known as ''Sonderklasse'' (German for "special class", abbreviated as "S-Klasse"), is a series of full-sized luxury vehicle, luxury sedans, limousines and Armored car (VIP), armored sedans produced by the Germa ...
belonging to a wealthy businessman named Hardenberg (
Burghart Klaußner Burghart Klaußner (born 13 September 1949) is a German film actor. He received acting training at the in Berlin. Klaußner had engagements at Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin, Hamburger Kammerspiele and at the theaters in Cologne Cologne ...
). After her eviction for non-payment of rent, she moves in with Peter and Jan, who are often out all night. While Peter is in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Jan tells Jule that he and Peter spend their nights "educating" upper-class people by breaking into their houses, moving furniture around and leaving notes saying ''"die fetten Jahre sind vorbei"'' ("the days of plenty are over") or ''"Sie haben zu viel Geld"'' ("you have too much money"). After hearing this, Jule convinces the reluctant Jan to break into Hardenberg's home in the affluent Berlin suburb of Zehlendorf while he is away on business. During the break-in, the thrill of the moment entices them to kiss before Jan leaves Jule alone for a few minutes; he does not want to destroy his friendship with Peter. As she wanders around outside Jule accidentally sets off the house's floodlights, and they quickly leave. When Peter returns the next day, Jan and Jule do not tell him about their activities the night before. Jule realises that her mobile phone is gone, and she and Jan leave later that night to look for it in the house. After she finds it, Hardenberg walks in the door and struggles with Jule when he recognises her. Hearing them, Jan comes downstairs and knocks Hardenberg unconscious with a
flashlight A flashlight ( US, Canada) or torch ( UK, Australia) is a portable hand-held electric lamp. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb, but these have been displaced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) since the ...
. Not knowing what to do, they call Peter and he comes to their aid. The three cannot decide what to do with Hardenberg and take him to a remote, rarely used cabin belonging to Jule's uncle in the Tyrolean Austrian
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
near
Jenbach Jenbach is a municipality in the district of Schwaz in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol. Etymology Many inhabitants of Jenbach believe that the name "Jenbach" is derived from "Jenseits des Baches", which means "Beyond the brook", how ...
, overlooking
Achensee Lake Achen (german: Achensee) is a lake north of Jenbach in Tyrol, Austria. It is the largest lake within the federal state, and has a maximal depth of 133 metres. Together with the Achen Valley it parts the Karwendel mountain range in the west f ...
. As they try to decide how to deal with their hostage, they learn that Hardenberg was a radical himself during the 1960s. A leader of the Socialist German Student Union, he was a good friend of
Rudi Dutschke Alfred Willi Rudolf "Rudi" Dutschke (; 7 March 1940 – 24 December 1979) was a German sociologist and political activist who, until severely injured by an assassin in 1968, was a leading charismatic figure within the West German Socialist Stu ...
before marrying, getting a good job and abandoning his ideals. As the story progresses, political ideology and the characters' relationships become the main issues. Peter and Jan temporarily fall out over Jan's developing romance with Jule, and Hardenberg seems to regain some of his former self. The trio finally decides that kidnapping Hardenberg was wrong and take him back to his house to let him go. As they prepare to leave, Hardenberg gives Jule a letter forgiving her debt and promising not to involve the police. The film ends with Peter, Jan and Jule asleep in the same bed as a group of heavily armed police ('' Spezialeinsatzkommando'') gather outside their flat and knock on the door. Jule wakes up when she hears a knock, and the police force their way into the almost-empty flat. Apparently in Barcelona, Jule opens the door to a hotel maid who wishes to clean their room. In the Berlin apartment, the police find a note: ''"Manche Menschen ändern sich nie"'' ("some people never change"). In the original German version, the Edukators set off in Hardenberg's boat in the Mediterranean, presumably to disrupt the island signal towers supplying most television programming to Western Europe.


Production


Development and characters

According to Weingartner, ''The Edukators'' was influenced by his past as a political activist: "There's some of me in the film". He considers it an autobiographical film, with Brühl playing Weingartner. It describes the last 10 years of his life, an attempt to find a political movement satisfying his ideals. It also reflects his frustration over the lack of political ideals among his generation and the effect of advertising and media images. About this, he stated, "We don't know where to put our revolutionary energy and we don't know how to fight the system because we can't grab it, we don't know how to attack it," he said. "The system has become so invulnerable because it sells revolution to us." The director opted for nonviolence because violence "only makes the system stronger", citing the
Baader-Meinhof The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970. The ...
gang which "practically killed the Left movement in Germany ... because they gave the police an excuse to really arm up and create a more totalitarian system." Instead, Weingartner gave his characters "poetic resistance." Although Brühl thought the film "very realistic", he was dissatisfied with his character's authenticity. The actor felt "attached" to Jan, admiring his "courage to want to change the way things are going, to act to defend his beliefs", but thought it was "very utopian and naive, that they take so much risk to break into some rich man's house to move things around." The authenticity of the love triangle was "very important" to Weingartner, who was once part of such a relationship. Although the actors were uncertain at first that Peter could forgive Jan and Jule's betrayal, Weingartner uses the situation to explore his concept of friendship: "Friendship means more to him than bourgeois moral values. Peter loves Jule – he doesn't own her. He can tell that when she falls in love with Jan, their love is a wonderful thing, coloured by a joint rebellion – a shared rejection of social constraint."


Production and filming

Weingartner said he received an offer large enough that "I would not have to work for the rest of my life" from an American studio but refused it, opting to produce the film with his own studio, y3film, and coop99, an Austrian studio. A
low-budget film A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...
, it was funded by a €250,000 loan Weingartner obtained with his parents' house as collateral. His second feature film, ''The Edukators'' was shot with hand-held digital cameras, allowing the director "to explore the space and give actors license to go wherever they wanted." Weingartner wanted a technically simple film focused on the actors. His decision to have a low budget was measured: "More money means more pressure. This way, I used a limited crew and was able to set the shooting schedule the way I wanted it – usually. The huge advantage of this kind of film-making is that it's rapid." Most of the film was shot in Berlin, except for scenes in the Austrian Alps.


Casting

The character of Peter was written for Erceg after Weingartner saw him "in a friend's film." Brühl, already a popular actor in Germany, was known to the director, who saw him as a "perfect match" for Erceg. Klaußner was cast because, according to Weingartner, "I knew the energy and vibe between us was right." The most difficult role to cast was Jule; Weingartner searched for eight months, and when he found Jentsch she was committed to another film. Since he was certain that the actress was "the perfect cast", he rescheduled filming.


Themes and analysis

Weingartner commented that the film is "about economic revolution, about poor vs. rich." He also tried to explore in the film the fact that, in his opinion, "Today, we live in a society in which revolution is on sale." For example, in the film Jan comments that revolutionary icon
Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
now appears on T-shirts. Hardenberg's "psycho-sexual powerplay" against the main characters while in the Alps stands for what Weingartner considers "a betrayal of European Left by hippie-era survivors including
Joschka Fischer Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer (born 12 April 1948) is a German retired politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens. He served as the foreign minister and as the vice-chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. Fis ...
,
Gerhard Schroder Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg Gerhard III of Holstein-Rendsburg ( – 1 April 1340), sometimes calle ...
—and
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
." Nonetheless, Weingartner was "not calling for revolution with this film. It was much more important to me to emphasize how important it is to be critical and to question the
status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...
". Even if the subject of the film is political, it deals with "lots of themes," and "the theme of revolution, of rebellion," and of "how a person can change the course of his life" are the main ones. Similarly, Brühl commented that "there are different things you can take out of it" as the film also deals with generational conflict and stories of love and friendship. Weingartner said, "the whole idea of 'Edukating' is playful. The movie is full of jokes. And happiness. I read somewhere that kids laugh out loud more than 150 times a day. Adults laugh only 10 times a day. Well, I want people to laugh. I want people to go see the film and have fun." Like Brühl, Juliane Grieb of the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
also stressed its "generational conflict" theme. While Roxanne Sancto of '' Paste'' dubbed it as a film about "disillusioned youth", Boyd van Hoeij, writing for ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', said that it was part of a trend of films that "attempt to figure out what it is about political extremes that seduces young people – and how their idealism and hormone-powered gumption can eventually come head-to-head with the much uglier realities of politics and life".


Release and reception


Accolades and public reception

''The Edukators'' premiered on 17 May at the
2004 Cannes Film Festival The 57th Cannes Film Festival started on 12 and ran until 23 May 2004 in film, 2004. The Palme d'Or went to the United States, American film ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' by Michael Moore. The festival opened with ''Bad Education (2004 film), La mala educa ...
, where it received a 10-minute standing ovation. There it was nominated for the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
, marking the first time a German film entered in the competition since 1993, when
Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...
' ''
Faraway, So Close! ''Faraway, So Close!'' (german: In weiter Ferne, so nah!) is a 1993 German fantasy film directed by Wim Wenders. The screenplay is by Wenders, Richard Reitinger and Ulrich Zieger. It is a sequel to Wenders' 1987 film ''Wings of Desire''. Actors Ot ...
'' did it. Cinematographers Daniela Knapp and Matthias Schellenberg were nominated for the 2004
Camerimage The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage () is a festival dedicated to the celebration of cinematography and recognition of its creators, cinematographers. The first seven events (1993–1999) were held in Toruń, ...
. The film won the Silver Giraldillo (second place) at the 2004
Seville European Film Festival The Seville European Film Festival (SEFF; es, Festival de Cine Europeo de Sevilla, links=no) is an annual film festival dedicated to European cinema held in November in Seville, Spain, since 2004. The festival is an initiative of the Instituto d ...
, and that year Brühl was nominated for a
European Film Award The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...
for Best Actor. Of the German Cinema New Talent Awards at the 2004
Munich Film Festival Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, Weingartner was Best Director, Erceg Best Actor, and writers Weingartner and Held received a jury award. Erceg and Jentsch were nominated for the 2005 New Faces Award. At the 2005
German Film Awards German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
''The Edukators'' shared the Best Feature Film Silver Award with ''
Sophie Scholl – The Final Days ''Sophie Scholl – The Final Days'' (german: Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage) is a 2005 German historical drama film directed by Marc Rothemund and written by Fred Breinersdorfer. It is about the last days in the life of Sophie Scholl, a 21-y ...
'', Klaußner was Best Supporting Actor and Weingartner was nominated for the Best Director Award. It was the Best Film and Jentsch the Best Actress at the 2005 German Film Critics Association Awards. At the 2005
Bavarian Film Awards The Bavarian Film Awards (german: Bayerischer Filmpreis) have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bavaria in Germany for “exceptional achievement in German filmmaking.” Along with the German Film Awards, these are th ...
, Jentsch won Best New Actress. The film shared the Audience Award for Best Dramatic Feature at the 2005
Miami International Film Festival The Miami Film Festival (formerly Miami International Film Festival) is an annual film festival in Miami, Florida, that showcases independent American and international films with a special focus on Ibero-American films. The competitive film fest ...
with ''
The Overture ''The Overture'' ( th, โหมโรง or Hom rong) is a 2004 in film, 2004 Cinema of Thailand, Thai tragic-nostalgia musical film, music-Drama (film and television), drama film. A fictionalised account based on the life story of Thai palace ...
'' and '' Red Dust''. ''The Edukators'' debuted in German theaters on 25 November 2004, and the following day in Austria. According to the
European Audiovisual Observatory The European Audiovisual Observatory (french: italic=no, Observatoire européen de l’audiovisuel, german: italic=no, Europäische Audiovisuelle Informationsstelle) is a public service organisation, part of the Council of Europe set up in 1992. ...
, the film was seen by over 1.4 million people in Europe: almost 890,000 in Germany, 71,000 in Austria and 67,000 in Switzerland. The highest attendance in non-German-speaking countries was in France (over 72,000) and Turkey (over 69,000).
Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray began ...
reported gross earnings of US$8,152,859 in Argentina, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. In Germany and Austria, the film's home countries, it grossed US$4,540,541 and US$479,678 respectively.

Since its release ''The Edukators'' has become a

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
.


Critical reception

The film was generally well received by critics. Based on 76 reviews collected by
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, it has an overall approval rating of 70% from critics and an
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
score of 6.5 out of 10. According to the website's consensus, "''The Edukators'' engagingly plays out the clash between youthful idealism and older pragmaticism."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalised rating from 100 top reviews by mainstream critics, calculated a score of 68 based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Stephanie Bunbury of ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' wrote that in Germany it was a "huge hit ... Abroad, however, it has been the butt of plenty of criticism. It is too earnest, too naive, too Teutonic and sincere."
Joe Morgenstern Joe Morgenstern (born October 3, 1932) is an American writer and retired film critic. He wrote for ''Newsweek'' from 1965 to 1983, and then for ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 1995 to 2022. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2005. Morgen ...
of ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' called ''The Edukators'' "an uncommonly smart and interesting" film, and the ''
Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
''s Marc Savlov said the film was a "smart, kicky little gem that owes as much to
Guy Debord Guy-Ernest Debord (; ; 28 December 1931 – 30 November 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationis ...
and the
Situationists The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...
." According to Sean Axmaker of the ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...
'', it was "a rare film that gets smarter as it goes along ... inject nga satisfying dash of pragmatism every time it seems ready to slip into either unearned idealism or cynical fatalism." Ray Bennett wrote for ''The Hollywood Reporter'', "''The Edukators'' is that rare beast, a terrific movie that boasts intelligent wit, expert storytelling, delightful characters and grown-up dialogue plus suspense and a wicked surprise ending." A. O. Scott of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that despite "its shortcomings" on political subjects, it "succeeds brilliantly in telling the story of a man who falls in love with his best buddy's girlfriend and doesn't know what to do about it." Tim Appelo of ''
Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976. The newspaper ...
'' praised "the marvelous acting, the sensitive, utterly realistic treatment of the young-love triangle," adding: "''The Edukators'' is educational—not intellectually, but emotionally." ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' critic
Stephen Hunter Stephen Hunter (born March 25, 1946, Kansas City, Missouri) is an American novelist, essayist, and film critic. Life and career Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, ...
praised the film's realism: "The whole thing feels messy, painful, funny and believable, just like that hideous circus known as real life." ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' Howard Swains wrote that it "manages to combine political discourse, a love-triangle and a hostage plot, all without sacrificing its graceful humour." ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' critic Carina Chocano described it as a "sweet, funny and gripping romantic adventure," and "The only accurate, ironic and poignant depiction of what it's like to be young and socially committed in the
WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
era". Chocano choose it as one of the 13 best films released in 2005. Liese Spencer of ''
Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' also elected it as one of the best five films of 2005. Not all reviews were positive. The ''
Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...
''s Roger Moore called ''The Edukators'' "a surprisingly generic German '
Stockholm syndrome Stockholm syndrome is a condition in which hostages develop a psychological bond with their captors. It is supposed to result from a rather specific set of circumstances, namely the power imbalances contained in hostage-taking, kidnapping, an ...
' romantic triangle thriller," adding: "It ends interestingly, but it would've ended better, and played better, had it been half an hour shorter." In ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'', Jason Clark wrote that the film needed "a touch of the perverse", but "Weingartner plays out the drama far too earnestly, and the story barely sustains the length of a movie half of its running time." According to Jack Mathews of the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'', "The dialogue between the captive and the captors gets a little didactic, and the ending is as contrived as it is cynical." Similar criticism of the film's didacticism was made by Brett Michel of ''
Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' and ...
'', Kriss Allison of ''
Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...
'' and Glenn Whipp of the ''
Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media. The offices of the ''Dai ...
''. Andre Wright wrote for '' The Stranger'', " tstarts strong, with an ingratiatingly anarchic vibe, but quickly devolves into a dust-dry, hectoring socialist lecture: a cinematic version of
Kenner Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...
's My First Revolution playset." Jonathan Romney of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' said that Weingartner "presents his indictment of the System in crudely stacked terms that make ''The Edukators'' very much a teen movie rather than a plausible political statement." In ''The Times'', Wendy Ide wrote: "What could have been an effective piece of drama, a dialogue to cause both sides to question the very foundations of their belief systems, is just a two-hour rant from a wispy bearded idealist whose idea of brotherhood is to sleep with his best friend's girlfriend." The film has been considered to be part of a "New German Wave" in the cinema. The ''
Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...
'' staff considered it to be one of the best German films of 2004 and early 2005. In 2018, the British Film Institute named it one of the ten "great German films of the 21st century". News publisher '' The Local'' and '' DE magazine Deutschland'' also included the film among the best ten films of Germany in 2018 and 2019 articles.


Cultural impact

In 2006 a group of left-wing activists calling itself "Hamburg for Free" dressed as superheroes, robbing food from upper-class stores to distribute to the underclass. The media considered the crimes inspired by the film, and some protesters had T-shirts and banners reading ''"Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei"'' (''The Edukators'' original title). In 2009, a statue stolen from
Bernard Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time chairman of the NASDAQ s ...
was returned with a note ("Bernie the Swindler, Lesson: Return stolen property to rightful owners") signed by "The Educators". It gained international attention and in 2006 it was announced that Brad Anderson would adapt and direct a version of the film set in the United States. In 2013, a Brazilian stage adaptation of ''The Edukators'' was directed by João Fonseca and scripted by Rafael Gomes. The idea came from Pablo Sanábio, who stars in the play as Peter. The remaining cast was composed by Fabrício Belsoff (Jan), Nathália Lage (Jule) and Edmílson Barros (Hardenberg). To promote the play, furniture-like sculptures by juvenile interns in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
were placed in affluent neighborhoods such as
Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...
,
Gávea Gávea is an affluent residential neighborhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It borders São Conrado, Leblon, Lagoa and Jardim Botânico neighborhoods and is famous for its high concentration of artists. PU ...
,
Ipanema Ipanema () is a neighbourhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon and Arpoador. The beach at Ipanema became known internationally with the popularity of the bossa nova jazz song, "The Girl from Ipane ...
, Lagoa and
Leblon Leblon (Portuguese: /leˈblõ/) is a neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is also the name of the local beach. The neighborhood is located in the South Zone of the city, between Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, Morro Dois Irmãos and the Jardim ...
. Film director Weingartner approved the stage adaptation and besides watching it in Rio de Janeiro, he made a five-minute montage for the play featuring ''The Edukator'' film scenes and newspaper headlines about the
Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...
and
Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest Social movement, movement against economic inequality and the Campaign finance, influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, Manhattan, Wall S ...
. After being staged in Rio de Janeiro, performances were also held in
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
,
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
,
Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...
,
Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
, and
Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...
.


See also

*
List of films featuring home invasions There is a body of films that feature home invasions. Paula Marantz Cohen says, "Such films reflect an increased fear of the erosion of distinctions between private and public space... These films also reflect a sense that the outside world is mo ...


Notes


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edukators, The 2004 crime drama films 2004 films Austrian crime drama films Films about anarchism Films set in Berlin Films shot in Austria Films shot in Berlin German crime drama films 2000s German-language films Films directed by Hans Weingartner Films set in 2004 2000s German films