Very well executed

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

"Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei" or "The Edukators" is a German 2-hour film from over 10 years ago written and directed by Hans Weingartner. The core cast here includes Daniel Brühl and Julia Jentsch (2 of Germany's biggest stars back then, Brühl still today) plus Stipe Erceg and Burghart Klaussner, who won a German Film Award for his supporting performance here. The movie itself also finished in second place behind " Alles auf Zucker!". It is somewhat a mix of "Funny Games" and "The Dreamers", so basically a kidnapping film that is not a thriller though and not about who lives and who dies, but about the protagonists' approach to life and society. And as much as this may apply to the young trio, for me, it was all about Klaussner's character here, a man at the age of 50 who sees himself in the idea of his captors before life took him into a completely different connection, one that went basically against everything that he believed in as a young man, the ideals of his youth.Another crucial aspect is the harmony in this film. Yes there are struggles when Erceg realizes the other two are in love, but at the end he can not only accept it because love is all that matters, but it also won't severely damage his friendship, especially to Brühl's character. And still, even if this film can not be called a thriller at any point, it is still a fairly tense watch. The scenes during which they break into the houses are pretty thrilling to watch and the moment we see Klaußner's character appear and catch them in the act is one of the best of the entire film. Also the scenes in the countryside with the characters' interactions were captivating to watch.Finally, you cannot really do anything wrong with the inclusion of "Hallelujah", even if the version used in here does not come from the master himself, Leonard Cohen. This was a truly nice way to end the film. I must say as strong as the direction here is, the heart and soul of the film is (except Klaussner's performance) the script. The comments about life happening and slowly turning you into somebody else in order to be able to care for a family for example was something that really stays in the mind. The film runs a couple minutes longer than 2 hours, so pretty long, but I must say it never dragged at all and I personally always like it when the cast of a film is very small, very essential and all the main characters are elaborated on properly. The only negative note I can think of is that the only one from the trio who still gives convincing performances in my opinion is Klaussner, which is really sad as the 3 young actors certainly looked very promising here. Brühl occasionally has a pretty solid performance like "Rush", but as a whole he basically always plays the same character. Back to this film here, though, I highly recommend watching it. Interesting political messages and a wonderful character study. Don't miss out.

The ending, as I understood it, was not cheerful. The message found on the wall by the police, "Some people never change" is the conclusion. That applied to Herr Hardenburg and to the three Edukators. When Hardenburg had time to consider what to do in the quiet of his rearranged house, he reverted to his establishment, bourgeois self and called the police. He did not change, once he regained his footing in the world that was his before being kidnapped. Similarly, after having realized that what they did (kidnapping Hardenburg) was done not for idealistic reasons but to try to find a way to save themselves from prison, they did not give up their rather dangerous game. They simply moved to a new location from which to continue - or so I understood. As a dramatic work, I found it too blatant in its messages. It is not the work of a mature writer who allows his (or her) readers to realize what his theme is without making it a classroom of "Edukation". The acting was well done, and the drama was suspenseful. There was just no way of concluding such a story that would not have been tragic or unrealistic. The conclusion offered, a message on the wall, was probably the only other alternative.

I have a new rule. Anything with Bruhl is cool. "Edukators" presents the story of two young men who break into homes of the wealthy and rearrange all of the furnishings. These two young men begin to symbolize idealism and practicalism in very short order. The film uses its characters to portray much broader themes in human relations, particularly the loss of idealism as one gets older. The only real critical point I felt the film lacked is a deeper love interest between Jule and her two suitors, I feel that the lack of sensuality detracted from the "tensions" in the film and left a flat spot on a wonderful film. A bit more development would have been nice. An excellent film.

German movie-making is at its best. In the last 8-10 years a new generation of super-talented writer-directors and actors have emerged from the Harz mountains and Bavaria and took the world by storm. It all began with Tom Tykwer and his infamous Run, Lola, Run which showed the way for many a prodigal self-made movie-maker and put Germany back onto the map of world cinema. What is more, their peculiar take on timeless questions of existence and social awareness opened up a whole new perspective in audiovisual arts. They aspire to bring the viewer closer to understanding the nature of things by sticking to human scales, cutting down on special effects and avoiding false-sounding, pretentious dialogues and proclamations. One could say they are down to earth, although visual fantasy does shine through a good couple of times. Hans Weingarten's Edukators however, is balancing on the edge of full-blown idealism and the realm of common sense, and finds the perfect solution to let ourselves be seduced by the sensible and sensitive combination of the two.Jan, Peter and Jule are young souls worn out by the controversies of modern-day life. They try to play the role of the catalyst in a society which is only driven by money and economic interests: they break and enter rich people's homes to make them feel uncomfortable with all their excessive valuables. But one day - amid rather unwanted circumstances - comes the inevitable question the three have to ask themselves: Is what they do not as selfish as rich folks' habits to collect antique furniture or vintage cars?Edukators is an exciting piece, dealing with the exact same existential problems most of us have to deal with. Although shot with digital technique it remains enjoyable to watch. The filming locations were picked with an utterly good sense - not many times do you get to see the wonderful glacier lakes hidden in the Austrian Alps -, while cinematography is pure and unpretentious. It is all capped by the warm emotions the three young adults bring to the screen, and a captivating soundtrack. Superb.If you thought German films were an acquired taste, go see this one. Great feel-good movie for a quit night. It will not disappoint.