It’s a busy week for IFC with three films being released on DVD on November 29th. The latest one in their collection is Dennis Gansel’s Sundance Selection, The Wave (Die Welle), which is a fictionalized film based on the true story of Ron Jones’ ‘The Third Wave’ Experiment which aimed to show students that fascism can appeal to everyone, even those in embedded in a democratic society located in California.
“Germany today. During project week, high school teacher Rainer Wenger (Jürgen Vogel) comes up with an experiment in order to explain to his students how totalitarian governments work. A role-playing game with tragic results begins. Within a few days, what began with harmless notions like discipline and community builds into a real movement: THE WAVE. By the third day, the students start ostracizing and threatening others.
When the conflict finally erupts into violence at an intramural water polo game, the teacher decides to break off the experiment. But it’s too late. THE WAVE is out of control…”
Social experiments always fascinate me so I was anxious to see how this real life event translated to film, much like the way I was excited to see The Experiment with Adrien Brody, based off of the Stanford Prison Experiment. In this film, we have a hip high school teacher eager to start a project about anarchy get stuck with autocracy. Since his students are bored with life he devises a way to prove to them that fascism can exist again in Germany, even after the atrocities of the Hitler regime.
The Wave provides us with a lesson that nobody is immune to fascism and that we cannot blame the general population of Germany for succumbing to the ideals of the Nazi’s when, in the beginning, everything seems so attractive. Once you lose your grip on reality and individuality, violence begins to erupt as a result of your ideals and exclusion, which is when the ideal become truly dangerous. This how watching The Wave can prove to be a valuable learning tool and a great medium to showcase how history can easily repeat itself, no matter the scale.
Dennis Gansel has done a good job translating the events that happened in California to the German big screen. I really admire the fact that he actually brought in and introduced Ron Jones to the actors and actresses portraying the students and teachers, giving him an opportunity to share his experiences with the class firsthand rather than through just books and news articles. Gansel also did a solid job creating traditional, cookie cutter characters that were needed for the film to succeed. While they seemed stereotypical, chances are every class would have students like those portrayed in the film so it actually felt ok this time around and wasn’t too painful to watch.
I’m not very familiar with many German actors and didn’t know much about Jürgen Vogel but I thought he did a good job as the teacher and leader of The Wave. I also loved the fact that he wore a Ramones shirt to work, 
representing the rockers and sticking it to the man. The students, including Max Riemelt, Jennifer Ulrich and Jacob Matschenz, didn’t really impress me at all, they acted pretty much the same as young American actors and actresses do in high school films. Some stand out more than others, either in a good or bad way, but nothing that would really diminish or improve the film’s quality.
As for the special features, the DVD contains a decent behind the scenes look at the making of the feature along with two very brief interviews with writer/director Dennis Gansel and The Third Wave Experiment creator Ron Jones. Listening to Ron is pretty interesting because he talks about the similarities between his experiment and the one in the film in addition to why he is no longer allowed to teach in public schools. Gansel touches upon his inspiration, his connection to the film and what it was like to be selected for Sundance.
The Wave is a cool but cautionary tale of what happens when social experiments go too far in order to prove a point. I think it would a great film to show during a social studies class for the youth of today to understand that it is very easy to become a victim of fascism and that nobody is as immune to its communal offerings as they think they are. It’s a fascinating picture that is well worth a watch even if it isn’t close to being the best film to come out of Germany this year. With decent acting, a great story and the fact that it is based on true events, The Wave is a feature worth 107 minutes of your time on a weekday night.
Film Rating: A historically based, political high school thriller that’s worth a watch (6.5/10)
DVD Rating: 4/10
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