This film was exciting to me because it has a lot of ingredients I like.First, there is that 70ies feeling throughout. It is created by the 70ies scenery, cars of that time, music of that time, haircuts, cloths, even the colors are kind of 70ies wash-out.The carnival scenes remind me of "Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum", which plays in Cologne, just like the band Can featuring two of the songs (Swim Swan Song and Spoon).The film is dense, relaxed but still full of tension. You see what an asshole Baader is, but still you may develop some positive feelings for him.Its like a mixture of a "Tatort" and a Fassbinder, almost if Fassbinder had created a "Tatort".The film is a complete demystification of the RAF. The RAF had been given the role of a dangerous threat to Germany, but is shown as a gang of weak persons full of admiration for Andreas Baader, following his commands. Reasons are given why the RAF was given that role (in the media) and that the real threat wouldn't be the Baader-Meinhoff gang but those who are supposed to protect Germany from them.What has puzzled me was the apparent departure from the observed historical truth, in particular in the end. Maybe this was thought as a provocation, to remind you that you cannot rely on being told the truth.

I was at an advantage and disadvantage in watching BAADER. My advantage was that I know relatively little about the Baader-Meinhof Gang or Red Army Faction (RAF). I believe this allowed me to view the film more objectively. As a fictionalized representation of the RAF, I figured I could see how well BAADER worked as a film. My disadvantage was that, well, I know relatively little about the RAF, so would be unable to figure out just how much liberty the filmmakers took with the real events. Ultimately, I'm not sure it mattered that much as BAADER falls rather flat as an accurate representation or inaccurate representation.I found it hard to feel any real connection to the characters. And, by connection, I mean I didn't feel any great animosity towards the RAF or any sympathy. To feel so dispassionate about a group of revolutionaries/terrorists, is a failing in both the writing and directing.Andreas Baader, as portrayed in BAADER, is supposed to bring an understanding to what brought these people together under his leadership to commit the acts they committed. However, I don't get any sense of why the other members of the RAF were drawn to him or even to the cause. Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't have a problem with Frank Giering being cast in the role. Giering seems capable and competent, it's the script that lacks dimension.For most of the film, the characterization of Baader is nothing more then political rants and raves. It's possible that Baader was similar to this in real life, however, in the film it got old quickly. I wanted more insight into who this man was, and if not him, then more insight into the RAF as an organization. We don't get either in BAADER. The film doesn't give us enough insight into Andreas Baader and it never gives us much information about Ulrike Meinhof or the other members.My impression is that the filmmakers wanted to romanticize the Baader Meinhof gang as a group of sincere idealists. It's brought out that the RAF didn't, at first, want to harm anyone. At least, that is what we hear through one of Andreas Baader's rants. Also, there is an attempt to draw almost a father and son type connection between Kurt Krone who is the federal policeman in charge of capturing Baader and destroying the gang, and Andreas Baader. There is a meeting between the two towards the end of the film and, inexplicably the film shows Krone's sympathy for Baader. Krone, at one point, says that the RAF almost managed to change society. My question is, change it to what, exactly? From watching BAADER, I have no idea, so therefore, one way or the other; I see no sense of urgency to the group and the film, in general. This is unfortunate, since the RAF was a big part of German consciousness during their reign of terror. And I certainly could have done without the fictionalized ending. Andreas Baader dies in a highly romantic way reminiscent of the American film BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. I have since found out that, Andreas died in a much less dramatic and romantic fashion.If the film had been centered on Kurt Krone, the more interesting character in my opinion, BAADER would have worked much better. Krone's orchestration of the federal police and his ability to second-guess Baader, was fascinating. Again, I'm unclear how much of his character was fictionalized, but I much preferred the film when it focused on his character.In the end, BAADER is neither a real life account of the RAF in the 70s nor an engaging fictionalized vision of how Andreas Baader and the group might have operated. If you have any interest in radical groups of this time period, it might be worth a look, keeping in mind the historical inaccuracies, otherwise there's not much to recommend.

A beautifully filmed and excellently played film that conveys in the first half a lot about the life, the thinking, the hopes, and the dreams of those who later became known as the terrorists of the RAF. I like the ironic approach of both script and direction towards these people who thought about themselves as revolutionaries when they were still only a group of bourgeois youngsters looking for their way. The characters were excellently drawn and the dynamics inside the group - especially the psychological pressure put on the others by Andreas Baader - were well conveyed.The film has some important flaws though, especially concerning the script and the plotline.I did not understand for example why the storyline had to stray away in the second half from the historical events to a mythical depiction - like in the 'heroic' ending or in the obviously fictitious meeting between police chief Krone and Baader in the night on the road.But the major flaw of this film is for me that it never addressed all the murders and abductions the RAF conducted, it never put forward that very moment when they really became a lot of unscrupulous terrorists from a bunch of disoriented young people dreaming about the revolution.All in all a watchable, well made biopic that still leaves a bad taste in the mouth as it abandons at times an exact depiction of historical events to myths and fairy tales.

I think "Baader" has little to offer for viewers who haven't got any knowledge about the "Rote Armee Fraktion", a leftist German terrorist gang of the early Seventies led by Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Ulrike Meinhof. Too many events that are important for the development of the main characters are only vaguely indicated or alluded to. ***SPOILERS AHEAD*** I have read quite a lot about the RAF, so I didn't have this problem. Some sequences of the movie are excellent and intriguing, like for example the Palestinian training camp or Baader's merciless speeches to "soft" gang members. But overall the movie hasn't got enough density to explain how and why Baader and his comrades finally came to blow up US military facilities. The ending of "Baader" offers an interesting twist: The real Andreas Baader committed suicide in jail five years after his arresting. He's generally considered to be one of the most evil villains in post war German history. The fictional Andreas Baader in this movie is shot dead by the police while trying to arrest him. If this would have really happened, Baader might be considered as some sort of Robin Hood by a considerable part of today's German population.