Die Welle (The Wave – 2008) – Die Welle, literally The Wave, comes to us from Germany. This thriller tells the story of a high school teacher's misguided attempts to teach his class about the dangers of fascism and blind allegiance. The film's story takes its cues from an American Novel titled The Wave by Todd Strasser, which is in turn based upon a supposed real life experiment at a Palo Alto high school. The movie centers on a high school class taught by the “cool” teacher; a punk rock singing, anarchist, activist, who's tasked with teaching his students about autocracy for one week. When the teacher presses the students for examples of fascism, they make it clear they're tired of hearing about the atrocities of the Nazi regime in Germany, that it's time to move on, and nothing like that could ever happen again in Germany. The teacher takes this as a worrying sign to show the students exactly how easy it is to get wrapped up in a movement, and he sets about creating a fascist system in his classroom for the week-long project. What happens next is somewhat expected, however nonetheless shocking, and incredible, as the project spirals out of control. This movie captures the need for people, especially teenagers, to feel like they are part of something bigger, and more important, than themselves.
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