Baader-Meinhof: In Love with Terror (2002) (TV)

Director:

Ben Lewis

Release Date:

18 November 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Explores the Baader-Meinhof urban guerrilla movement (aka the Red Army Faction) in 1970s West Germany.

Plot Keywords:

RAF Terrorist | Rote Armee Fraktion | 1970s | Terrorist Group | Urban Violence

Runtime:

Canada:69 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Company:

Mentorn

Well worth watching

I saw this on Youtube by accident. It's made up of interview clips and archive footage, mainly from the 70's, of Germany's "Baader-Meinhof gang" i.e. Red Army Faction, who targeted German politicians and industry bosses in their terrorist struggle against the evil "imperialist" state, rather like a much deadlier version of the "Weathermen" in the US.

Knowing the German language helps. The narration is sometimes ludicrous and misleading, like when RAF leader Andreas Baader is labeled a "German Charly Manson type" - they may have a bad LSD trip in common, actually. It's not always obvious whom, or if the narrator is citing. The movie title suggests this could be a sensationalist b-movie piece with an agenda, but this first impression is quite false. Thanks to the sparse narration, it's a refreshingly open, balanced and quite fascinating look upon pieces of Germany's half-forgotten, but still controversial history. The RAF may be dead and disarmed, but their slogans and world views are very much alive and kicking.