Event

Berlin & Beyond - The Wave

Based on an experiment at a Palo Alto high
school in 1967, this cautionary tale about the
roots of fasciscm is transposed to an unnamed
German high school.
The students prepare for project week, a oneweek
unit covering one of several political theory
topics such as anarchy, democracy, and
autocracy. Instructor Rainer Wenger (Jrgen
Vogel), a rebellious type who coaches water
polo and wears Ramones T-shirts to work, will
teach autocracy, and he decides on a controversial
approach. Beginning with well-placed
homilies about unity and cooperation, he suggests
class uniforms and a group name. Some
students switch to another class, disturbed by
Wengers mode of instruction, while some of
those remaining take the lessons to heart in increasingly
disturbing ways. The heightening
conflict finally erupts with exciting and surprising
results.
A chilling allegory of fascism, director Dennis
Gansels keenly observed film about the
need to belong is based on events at a Palo
Alto high school in 1967.