The Wave

This interesting German film from director Dennis Gansel was first introduced to a wider audience at the 2008 Sundance film festival, and has deservedly begun to slowly gain the acclaim it deserves. Based on a 1960s Californian psychological experiment, The Wave is a brilliant examination of a dictatorship. Rainer Wenger, a teacher unappreciated by his peers but admired by his students, finds himself in charge of an Autocracy class during project week. Using unconventional techniques as always, Rainer sets up a class community with himself as the head, disciplining students more severely, and introducing a uniformed dress code. They call themselves 'The Wave', and the group gains unstoppable momentum. Filmed simply but enjoyably, this film is, if nothing else, an interesting study of the nature in which people can become sucked into a dictatorship, as per Nazi Germany.

RATING: 7/10 - A very interesting psychological drama, which plays out sometimes as an entertaining classroom drama, and at others a dark political study