And Tomorrow the Entire World

This movie shows the different ways of defending and idea. We know violence is bad but is it ok to use it for the greater good? I personally don't think so but this film makes you think.

Some things are never gonna change, politics is personal.

It's better to have a belief than have none at all.

Artistic results usually remain without risk when the state interferes. German films are often funded by federal agencies, so I don't expect any revolutionary ideas, but rather a kind of soft rinse format. This film has exactly that, no really convincing story, on the contrary, everything is actually lost in a dichotomy of good and evil, which doesn't really work either. Of course, you can't just imply leftist groups are the good guys, but if I already have the group of neo-fascists, who you really can't leave a good hair on, then I need more knowledge about the motives of leftist cells that take action against them. Spoiled female law students, whose middle-class parents go hunting, and who want to move out of this cocoon of security, remain just a mere cliché, if I don't add anything personal. And the director has not succeeded in doing that with any of her characters. Actually, the theme is thus missed and the characters all remain indifferent.

The leftists are routinely portrayed as idealistics and somewhat naives. The director, despite her own experience, does not avoid this portrait, although it focuses on the well-known friction between fighting with the same weapons as the enemy, about turning into a wolf to face the wolf. "If it had been done in 1930, Nazism would not have existed." That is a good justification. But showing left-wing extremists as immature and naive makes the debate too simplistic.

The movie captured some media interest in Germany when it was screened in Venice film festival but was also critisised by leftists focussing on the childish and psychotic behaviour of the antifascist group. So I was at least curious. Well, the movie doesn't live up to expectations. The story is a bit dull and I had a hard time to follow it. Shooting and edit is not bad but the visual side also failed to hold up my interest. On the positive side I think the acting is at least authentic and the movie lacks the usual dose of policial indoctrination.

This.film has so much potential and fails on so many levels that it is really sad to watch. A lost effort. Two stars for occasional Olivier Assays style editing that unfortunately does not help patch up lack of motivation in characters and lack of story development.