THE EDUKATORS Directed by Hans Weingartner
Certificate 15

ON his way to becoming a neurosurgeon, director Hans Weingartner swerved into filmmaking, debuting with the award-winning White Noise (2002). Inspired by his own experiences living in squats, he’s now made a cracker of a film – an anti-globalisation social thriller – that is both entertaining and provocative. Featuring Good Bye Lenin star Daniel Bruhl, this sharp, well-woven tale pivots on the idea of righteous terrorism in the face of forced capitalism.
In short, two young men go out at night and break into the homes of the wealthy and privileged. But they don’t burgle or destroy. Instead, they leave furniture and other precious possessions in astonishing disarray – and a telling note which reads “You have too much money” or “Your days of plenty are numbered.”
With sophisticated surveillance equipment and a knowledge of home alarm systems, the duo are like disruptive Robin Hoods, messing up the psyches of their victims more than their homes.
While Jan (Bruhl) and Peter (award-winning Croatian actor Stipe Erceg) are out “rearranging” Peter’s girlfriend Jule (noted theatrical actress Julia Jentsch) has no idea what they’re doing.
She is out peacefully protesting against sweatshops between waitress shifts and worrying about her debts. Evicted from her apartment, she confesses that she owes almost 100,000 euros after accidentally smashing an executive’s car on the autobahn. Jules calculates that it will take her eight years to pay off this debt. That frustration combined with the men’s passionate views on society can mean only one thing: a rebel yell is on the way.
The beauty of The Edukators is not only in its straightforward, almost Dogme-style of presentation (it’s shot on handheld cameras which, thankfully, don’t make the audience feel seasick). There’s an energy here which makes the film a genuine nail-biter.
Little in the first half of the film telegraphs where the second half is going – in fact, the plot soon heads into an area where the other side of the corporate story is told. The excitement comes at least in part from the director’s belief that revolution may not be dead, merely that it needs to be reborn in a different way.
Weingartner shows that the road to social equality is still not as smooth as these young ‘terrorists’ want it to be.