If John Hughes and Karl Marx had set out to make a movie together, the result would have been The Edukators (amazon.com | IMDB). It’s mostly the story of some teens/twentysomethings coming to grips with the reality of the world, and finding themselves – but they’re very socially conscious activist teens who like to toss out terms like “the people” and “revolution”.The basic plot goes thusly: Jan and Peter are two friends who, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, lead a double life by breaking into rich folks’ houses at night and rearranging their stuff. They always leave behind a note admonishing the homeowners for being wealthy. Peter goes away for the weekend to do something in Spain and leaves his girlfriend Jule in the care of Jan, and various things ensue that result in their kidnapping a wealthy businessman.

The crux of the plot revolves around the value of idealism, the possibility of maintaining it, and – of course; this is a European film – a love triangle. For the most part, it’s a well-acted piece that is emotionally satisfying and also entertaining. When the young idealists are throwing around high-minded social rhetoric about how the rich are stealing from us all, the dialog is a bit dry and – speaking as an American who’s quite aware that the 60s are dead, and not really all that concerned by their passing – kind of silly. But that’s part of the point.

Still, that’s the main drawback with the film; it’s just hard to take people seriously when they’re talking like beret-wearing black-clad pony-tailed coffe-shop-goers from 1950. Another problem is the basis for all the drama in the movie; the girlfriend, who is actually one of the two characters one can really empathize with, is financially screwed because she rear-ended a businessman on the autobahn; his car was a 100,000 euro Mercedes, and because her registration and insurance had lapsed, she owes him 100,000 euros. Perhaps it’s just my background, but as a believer in personal responsibility, I can’t really think that this rich guy “owes” it to her to just write off the debt, because she’s not worth as much cash as he is. And everything that happens sort of springs forth from her resentment of this evil businessman whose car she totalled.

Still, she’s likeable, and the kidnapped businessman who it turns out was an idealist himself back-in-the-day is also quite a sympathetic character; you come to really like him as the plot unfolds. The two main characters seem like twits, but well-intentioned ones, so you forgive them their (many) faults. So the film works, and it’s aided by a really good soundtrack. There’s some great music in this flick, and at certain points it really ties things together and just heightens the intensity of the vibe on-screen.

The Edukators won some awards in Germany and Bavaria, and got a nomination at Cannes, and it’s not hard to see why. Highly recommended to fans of German cinema, and people who enjoy talky films about social issues; if you’re looking for visual fluff and cheeky fun ala Lola Rennt, steer clear. This film’s too self-important for a casual experience to be anything other than unsatisfying.

The Edukators
Directed by: Hans Weingartner
Stars: Daniel Brühl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg, Burghart Klaußner, Peer Martiny
Run Time: 127 mins.
Check out The Edukators on IMDB