Die Welle

2008, 93 minutes

During a week’s workshop on ‘forms of government’, high-school teacher Rainer Wenger sets up a project to have his students personally experience what dictatorship represents. Fairly innocent concepts like group pressure and discipline soon develop into a serious movement called ‘Die Welle’. After a few days, the students begin to exclude dissenters, turn critics of ‘Die Welle’ into enemies and put an end to long-standing friendships. Criticism of ‘Die Welle’ is answered with aggression and intimidation. Conflicts accumulate, until the situation inevitably escalates.

Credits

Themes
Democracy and politics, Racism and/or discrimination
Suitable for
havo/vwo - bovenbouw
mbo - niveau 1 & 2
mbo - niveau 3 & 4
Director
Dennis Gansel
Country of production
Germany
Type
Fiction
Duration
93 minutes
Year
2008
Age rating
12 angst geweld grof taalgebruik