The Wave [DVD] [2008]

The Breakfast Club grown-up. Burn your sports clothes? Petrol fires in wheelbarrows free this film of big brand names early on, as sports wear is trashed. Any film that shows the burning of sporting brands is good by my reckoning. An anarchist teacher is given a teaching assignment to make a class of bored teens interested in autocracy and demonstrates with impact the easy route into fascism by turning his school mob of lazy greasers, geeks and swats into hard core neo-nazis, in under a week. The demonstration of how good it feels to burn big name brands puts this film into a very honourable category indeed. Do big brands pay you for advertising their produce on your own body? What do big name brands care for you... yet you wear their logos on your own flesh for free - and you pay them, to do it! Stop. Burn it. Innocent white shirts become the frequency for a new wavelength in thinking. Very unusual fare, well worth a look

First of all Jurgen Vogel (plays the teacher) is really, really great in this. He's incredibly human and very believable. I was thinking it'd be cool if him and Daniel Bruhl (Goodbye Lenin!) were in a film together (they are!). It's certainly massively entertaining and kept my attention well throughout. As many others on here have commented though it does have one or two flaws to stop it from being an amazing film. The idea that the teacher and manipulate a group of teenagers to form a quasi-fascist, semi-violent group is not unbelievable. However the speed he does it in (five days) and the fact he doesn't mean to makes it all so unbelievable. Which is a shame because had the teacher had been evil and the film set over a much longer period, it'd be 5 out of 5 for me.

Bought this to show my year 11 German class. It’s a great film and this is my third copy ( previous 2 from different sellers) but it just wouldn’t play at all. Complete waste of money!

One of the most disturbing films that I have seen for a very, very long time. A chilling insight into our deepest frailties and shortcomings, and hidden evils that are part of the human condition. A touch melodramatic in places although it doesn't detract from the film's overall message, that shared values should only embrace kindness, compassion, tolerance, courage and humility. In the final analysis, nothing else comes close to these universal values. This film acts as a warning as to the consequences of forgetting these.

Perfect film for teaching my German sixth formers about history and German! Fairly clear language and easy to follow themes in the film. Based on a true experiment in the States in the sixties, this is the German remake, which just goes to show that a dictatorship could arise anywhere, anytime! Fantastically well acted by Jurgen Vogel, Max Riemelt and Frederick Lau. You really get to know the characters in the film and it really tugs at your heart strings at the end. The usual cameo appearance of the director is here too! Dennis Gansel blends in perfectly in the disco scene! The film is a must, if not just for the soundtrack!

This is an amazing film. It teaches without being preachy. To those who say Facism can't happen here it's a must watch. This film should be shown in every single school - better than all the PC laws. It shows the gradual disintegration of individual freedom of thought and law and order in a class, as they follow their teacher who tries to show that yes, even in Germany, history can repeat itself. What's more, it's based on true events which happened in America which lends it even more credibility. Watch it and you won't breath easy afterward!

It seems a lot of people have problems with subtitles, but these films that are non English or American and usually the best gems out there. Very thought provoking and some really good acting. This just happens to be set in Germany but could of course happen in any town, which it did in America as a true story. A good lot of extras too. Recommended, even for those who have a subtitle phobia!

This is an enjoyable and thought provoking film which explores one of those timeless questions about human behaviour - what does it take to turn a group of disconnected individuals into a disciplined and motivated mob? It has the the usual mix of social types although some are a bit clichéd: the outsider who is just waiting for a leader to loyally obey; the liberal teacher who gets caught up in the adoration and starts believing his own propaganda. But it does demonstrate how strong these drivers are for some people and how difficult it can be to resist the herd instinct. A well acted and scripted film and the most comical salute ever invented!