The Wave (Die Welle)

In “Die Welle” Professor Wenger and his students develop a socio-political experiment based on the idea that the rise of authoritarianism is incomprehensible if you have not lived its fascination. For five days, by agreement, the group lives ​​a project called “Die Welle”, which from the beginning is more successful than anticipated.

With a logo similar to the work of Hokusai and a simple and precise uniform, the class gradually discovers the power of discipline, joint actions, coordinated attacks, strict obedience and body care. In the best case scenario, the experience will mean adopting the customs of an operation army.

The overwhelming effectiveness of the project quickly overwhelms the group and their guide, who increases its commitment with towards the group as much ah he reduces his levels of tolerance towards those who are against him. It is not a match, as indicated at some point in the tape, because this contention is merely the result of an impact force set in motion.

The idea that underlies the story is of great value because it brings together both current and classical issues concerning humanity. In this case, we see the teachers' responsibility and recklessness of youth living with issues such as the thin line between representation and the incorporation of an idea. The main purpose of the film is to remember or to illustrate how authoritarism can rise in any society.

The great slip occurs at the end. It is worth noting that between Wednesday and Thursday we sense that something will happen because of the radical transformation of some characters, a change whose motivations are barely known. 

Finally, the  question remains of what is the purpose of the teacher having a girlfriend if they were never going to seriously address the issue of "Die Welle". The answer may be that, by addressing this "minor" issue with other people who saw the movie, we incidentally get more elements to understand what really  that underpins this work.

Director: Dennis Gansel

Writers: Dennis Gansel, Todd Strasser (novel)

Stars: Jürgen Vogel, Frederick Lau and Max Riemelt