Die Welle, 2008

Based on a true story, high school teacher Rainer Wenger (Jürgen Vogel) decides to teach his students about autocracy by creating one in his class. When the class project grows beyond his control, the consequences are bigger than anyone would have predicted.



A very thought provoking film, Die Welle explores the human urge for community. The film depicts the comfort and sense of belonging that a group creates as well as the dark side of following a crowd.

Kudos to Dennis Gansel who not only plays the part of high school student Martin but also wrote (along with Peter Thorwarth) and directed this film!

Great soundtrack.
Based on the novel by Todd Strasser, and the classroom experiment The Third Wave created by California high school teacher Ron Jones.


Melody's Stars: * * * * *


Rating System:
*****=Worth Buying
****=Worth Seeing in Theaters
***=Worth Renting
**=Worth Watching on TV
*=Worth Watching if also cleaning house or doing paperwork
0=Total waste of time
Fail=So bad it doesn't even make the rating system