{image1}Using the contemporary radical movement as its touchstone, Hans Weingartner's new German film "The Edukators" uses a trio of young Germans and one older, rich one to explore youth movements of two eras.
Jan (Daniel Bruhl of "Goodbye, Lenin!") and his roommate Peter (Stipe Erceg) call themselves educators. Not because they're teachers but because they spend their evenings casing expensive villas in the rich part of town and then breaking in. But they don't steal anything. Instead, they move furniture and objects around and leave menacing notes like "Your days of plenty are numbered."
They hope this helps unnerve Germany's upper classes and keep them feeling besieged, uneasy and tense. It's their political statement.
Peter's girlfriend Jule (Julia Jentsch), meanwhile, works as a waitress in a snooty restaurant where the boss and the uppity clientele seem to love to make her miserable. She's been evicted from her apartment because she's in deep debt after causing an accident with a 100,000-Euro Mercedes Benz after her insurance lapsed.
So, she moves in with Peter and Jan, much to the dismay of the latter. But when Peter leaves for Spain (it's hard to figure out why, although we know it's an opportunity he can't pass up), the expected happens. While helping her clean up and move out of her old flat, Jan falls for Jule and vice versa.
Then it's not long before she hears about the educators and their antics. When she finds herself in the neighborhood of the Mercedes owner -- Hardenberg (Burghart Klaussner, also of "Goodbye, Lenin!") -- who is forcing her to pay back the hundred grand, she convinces Jan to go inside to see how he lives.
This ill-planned entry leads to plenty of chaos and plenty of discussion about politics and the ways that young idealists can be converted into older conservatives. Hardenberg sums up his views with a maxim told to him by his father. "Under 30 and not liberal, no heart. Over 30 and still liberal, no brains."
But Peter, Jan and Jule don't necessarily see it that way; although we don't get to see whether or not that's due to their age or what will be a long-standing revolutionary spirit. Perhaps we'll find out in "The Edukators 2."
In fact, as the story moves forward, we're not sure what the three can agree on. The love triangle and the mess they're in test their friendship and commitment.
In the end, we think we know how the story will end only to have it change and then change again in rapid succession. Cogent, engaging and wrapped in contemporary European society, "The Edukators" is an intriguing film.
"The Edukators" opens Friday, Sept. 23 at Landmark's Downer Theatre.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
