History Film / DieWelle

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->''"Ihr seid also der Meinung, dass eine Diktatur heute in Deutschland nicht mehr möglich wäre?"''
->''"So, you are of the opinion that a dictatorship would no longer be possible in Germany today?"''
-->-- '''[[CoolTeacher Rainer Wenger]]'''

''Die Welle'' (''The Wave'') is the 2008 German remake of ''Film/TheWave1981'', the fictional version of Ron Jones' 'Third Wave' experiment, directed by Creator/DennisGansel and relocating the events to a school in present day Germany. The film takes the basic premise and reworks the characters to fit with the German setting and changes the ending to become more dramatic, but remains a disturbingly realistic take on how HistoryRepeats.

The teacher Rainer Wenger is assigned to hold a class on autocracy, against his wish to talk about anarchy. Deciding to do the best about the situation he finds out that most of his students just took the class because Wenger is a popular teacher, not because of the subject. Most of the students think that Germany could never be an autocracy like the Third Reich again. Wenger decides to start an experiment with his class to prove the opposite and things start to [[GoneHorriblyRight go horribly wrong...]]

The films star Jürgen Vogel, Frederick Lau, Max Riemelt and Jennifer Ulrich.
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!!''Die Welle'' provides examples of:
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* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Karo's brother Leon is very rude due to the hands-off parenting style of their parents. He later joins the Wave and uses it's trappings to bully other children.
%%* BelligerentSexualTension: Between [[spoiler: Lisa and Marco]].
* BlatantLies: The computer geek that claims he is going to a LAN-party is seen taking part in the Wave-Party, also informing them about Karo's pamphlets allowing the members of the Wave to collect and destroy them before anyone else can read them.
** Mona exaggerates how bad the Wave is in the pamphlet. Karo is uneasy about this while Mona [[SomeAnvilsNeedsToBeDropped justifies it because it will get the point across]]. In a way it becomes a meta-commentary about [[DarkerAndEdgier the films ending]].
%%* BreakTheCutie: This happens to Lisa, Karo's best friend, at the end of the film.
* BookEnds: The film opens with a enthusiatic and happy Wenger driving to school dressed in black and ends [[spoiler: with him being driven away by the police in a state of absolute shock and sorrow dressed in white]].
* BombThrowingAnarchists: Subverted. The anarchist gang lead by Faust are not violent until they are provoked by the Wave-members putting up their symbol all over town. It becomes FridgeBrilliance when you realise during their first encounter Faust calls the Wave members ''fascists''. Germans would understandably be offended by such an insult.
* ColorMotif: The classroom is filled with whites and a few greens. This is so [[spoiler: Karo will stick out when she does not put on the white shirt]].
* CoolTeacher: Wenger is this, his class being full despite the "boring" topic and usually on a first-name basis with his students.
* CruelTwistEnding: [[spoiler:Tim's mental breakdown and subsequent suicide]]. Particularly jarring because nothing like that happens in the original film and book.
* DarkerAndEdgier: In both the original film and the book, the conflict is resolved when Mr. Ross reveals the true nature of the experiment to his students, and no violence takes place. In this remake, however, [[spoiler:the revelation causes one of the students to ''snap'' because he fears he will be lonely and bullied as before the experiment and he pulls out a gun and threatens the other students with it and actually ''shoots'' one of them, then threatens the teacher before killing ''himself'' instead]].
* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Tim, counterpart of Robert in the original, commits suicide at the end.]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The salute Bomber invents for the Wave (a hand motion that mimicks a wave) that every member including Wenger eagerly adopts is very reminicent of the fascist salute.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Tim shoots Bomber and then himself after the Wave is disbanded, Lisa and probably several other student's get traumatized and Wenger is arrested by the police]].
* ForeignRemake: Towards the original film and book ''Film/TheWave1981''. Set in the country whose history was the original's inspiration, no less.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: At the very first day of the project week, Tim adapts to the new drill exceptionally well. [[spoiler: Guess who goes nuts after the reveal...]]
* GangOfBullies: Sinan, Bomber and Kevin. Sinan & Bomber reform thanks to the Wave.
* GoneHorriblyRight: The Wave is meant to teach the students about fascism and autocracy by example and the students starts to enjoy it. Even Wenger is enthralled because his students are more motivated than ever.
%%* HeroicBSOD: Wenger, after [[spoiler: the shooting]].
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Wenger, an anti-fascist anarchist, starts the project to teach his students how easy it is to fall to fascism, but according to his wife, starts to enjoy being leader a bit too much.
%%* HistoryRepeats: Main point of the film.
* HopeSpot: Near the end of the film, when [[spoiler:Tim threatens everyone else with his gun during his mental breakdown]], for a moment it seems as if Wenger manages to bring him back to his senses ... and then [[spoiler:Tim shoots himself]].
%%* HotTeacher: Rainer's wife.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Karo in subverted form; she only turns against The Wave when she chooses to not wear the uniform (white shirt) everyone in the Wave agreed on wearing, because of a comment from her mother, and thus starts see how the Wave treats non-members. It's likely she would not have turned against them if she had worn the uniform.
%%* LaResistance: Karo & Mona.
%%* LonersAreFreaks: {{Subverted}}. Tim's behavior is caused by him being desperate to not be alone any more.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
** Marco has one of these after he hits Karo for opposing the Wave.
** [[spoiler:In the final moments of the film Wenger is sitting in the police car and is so tormented by his guilt over creating the Wave he can hardly hold back on his emotions]].
%%* NoAntagonist
%%* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: During the water polo game.
%%* OnlyOneName: Most of the characters.
* PlayingHardToGet: After they had an argument, Karo tries to call Marco. Lisa is present and advises Marco to play hard to get and not answer. Cue Karo lying on her bed crying.
%%* PuttingOnTheReich: Natch.
* RealityIsUnrealistic:
** The most common complaint about the movie is that the ending is much more extreme than the real life event. WordOfGod says the ending was influenced by [[spoiler: the Emsdetten school shooting in 2006, when the film was scripted, where a 18-year old bullying victim wounded 5 people and killed himself. In 2009, a year after the films release the Winnenden school shooting was perpetrated by another loner, this time a 17-year old boy with depression. His name?]]. [[HarsherInHindsight Tim]].
** To American audiences, it might seem odd that high school students casually address their teachers by their given name, whereas the teachers address each other as "Herr/Frau [surname]." This is actually quite common in German schools, and indeed in many professions, coworkers don't address each other by given names.
* SomeAnvilsNeedsToBeDropped: Used in universe by Mona and later [[spoiler: and more successful by Wenger]].
* SuspiciouslyAproposMusic:
** The film opens with Rainer listening to "Rock'n'Roll Highschool", a song about not caring about history, not wanting to be taught to be a fool and only having fun.
** When the two guys talk about how the youth of today is aimless, the song in the background is sung from the perspective of a bored youth who is aimless and dangerous.
** When Bomber and Kevin skate and unintentionally get Karo's brother to join the Wave, the song playing at the skate ring is "Everything Is Under Control", a song about a movement getting control over people.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Rainer is not pretty and his wife is a HotTeacher. But Rainer is so charming and charismatic it is easy to get why she likes him.
* WhamLine: Wenger asks the students whether they would kill Marco if he asked them to.
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''Die Welle'' (''The Wave'') is the 2008 German remake of ''Film/TheWave'', the fictional version of Ron Jones' 'Third Wave' experiment, directed by Creator/DennisGansel and relocating the events to a school in present day Germany. The film takes the basic premise and reworks the characters to fit with the German setting and changes the ending to become more dramatic, but remains a disturbingly realistic take on how HistoryRepeats.

* ForeignRemake: Towards the original film and book ''Film/TheWave''. Set in the country whose history was the original's inspiration, no less.

%%* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Leon.

%%* DownerEnding

%%* GoneHorriblyRight

''Die Welle'' is the 2008 German remake of ''Film/TheWave'', the fictional version of Ron Jones' 'Third Wave' experiment, directed by Creator/DennisGansel and relocating the events to a school in present day Germany. The film takes the basic premise and reworks the characters to fit with the German setting and changes the ending to become more dramatic, but remains a disturbingly realistic take on how HistoryRepeats.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters Wenger, an anti-fascist anarchist, starts the project to teach his students how easy it is to fall to fascism, but according to his wife, starts to enjoy being leader a bit too much.

* YourCheatingHeart: Marco cheats on Karo, [[spoiler:with ''her best friend''!]]. And she never gets to know.

The teacher Rainer Wenger is assigned to hold a class on Autocracy, against his wish to talk about Anarchy. Deciding to do the best about the situation he finds out that most of his students just took the class because Wenger is a popular teacher, not because of the subject. Most of the students think that Germany could never be an autocracy like the Third Reich again. Wenger decides to start an experiment with his class to prove the opposite and things start to [[GoneHorriblyRight go horribly wrong...]]

** In droves. The film opens with Rainer listening to ''Rock'n'Roll Highschool'', a song about not carrying about history, not wanting to be taught to be a fool and only having fun. [[ForegoneConclusion Well...]]

** When Bomber and Kevin skate and unintentionally get's Karo's brother to join the Wave, the song playing at the skate ring is ''Everything Is Under Control'', a song about a movement getting control over people.

** And in fact the English subtitling is even more blatant: he calls them "Nazis". In the original language that word is only used once.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Marco has one of these after he hits Karo for opposing the Wave.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: The most common complaint about the movie is that the ending is much more extreme than the real life event. WordOfGod says the ending was influenced by [[spoiler: the Emsdetten school shooting in 2006, when the film was scripted, where a 18-year old bullying victim wounded 5 people and killed himself. In 2009, a year after the films release the Winnenden school shooting was perpetrated by another loner, this time a 17-year old boy with depression. His name?]]. [[HarsherInHindsight Tim]].

* SuspiciouslyAproposMusic: In droves. The film opens with Rainer listening to ''Rock'n'Roll Highschool'', a song about not carrying about history, not wanting to be taught to be a fool and only having fun. [[ForegoneConclusion Well...]]

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Leon.
* BelligerentSexualTension: Between [[spoiler: Lisa and Marco]].
* BreakTheCutie: This happens to Lisa, Karo's best friend, at the end of the film.

* HeroicBSOD: Wenger, after [[spoiler: the shooting]].

* HistoryRepeats: Main point of the film.

* HotTeacher: Rainer's wife.

* LaResistance: Karo & Mona.
* LonersAreFreaks: {{Subverted}}. Tim's behavior is caused by him being desperate to not be alone any more.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: During the water polo game.
* OnlyOneName: Most of the characters.

* PuttingOnTheReich: Natch.

** When Bomber and Kevin (German Malfoy) skate and unintentionally get's Karo's brother to join the Wave, the song playing at the skate ring is ''Everything Is Under Control'', a song about a movement getting control over people.

* PrinciplesZealot: Mona, the socialist.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters[=/=]BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Wenger, an anti-fascist anarchist, starts the project to teach his students how easy it is to fall to fascism, but according to his wife, starts to enjoy being leader a bit too much.

* SuspiciouslyAproposMusic: In droves. The film opens with Rainer listening to ''Rock'n'Roll Highschool'', a song about not carrying about history, not wanting to be taught to be a fool and only having fun. [[ForgoneConclusion Well...]]

* HeWhoFightsMonsters[=/=]BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Wenger, an anti-fascist anarchist, starts the project to teach his students how easy it is to fall to fascism, but according to his wife, starts to enjoy the leader a bit much.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Karo in subverted form; she only turns against The Wave when she chooses to not wear the uniform (white shirt) everyone in The Wave agreed on wearing, because of a comment from her mother, and thus starts see how The Wave treats non-members. It's likely she would not have turned against them if she had worn the uniform.

* LonersAreFreaks: Subverted. Tim's behavior is caused by him being desperate to not be alone any more.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: The most common complaint about the movie is that the ending is much more extreme than the real life event. WordOfGod says the ending was influenced by [[spoiler: the Emsdetten school shooting in 2006, when the film was scripted, where a 18-year old bullying victim wounded 22 people and killed himself. In 2009, a year after the films release the Winnenden school shooting was perpetrated by another loner, this time a 17-year old boy with depression. His name?]]. [[HarsherInHindsight Tim]].

** When Bomber and Kevin (german Malfoy) skate and unintentionally get's Karo's brother to join the Wave, the song playing at the skate ring is ''Everything Is Under Control'', a song about a movement getting control over people.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: The most common complaint about the movie is that the ending is much more extreme than the real life event. WordOfGod says the ending was influenced by [[spoiler: the Emsdetten school shooting in 2006, when the film was scripted, where a 18-year old bully victim wounded 22 people and killed himself. In 2009, a year after the films release the Winnenden school shooting was perpetrated by another loner, this time a 17-year old boy with depression. His name?]]. [[HarsherInHindsight Tim]].

* DownerEnding

* GoneHorriblyRight

* NoAntagonist

* BookEnds: The film opens with a enthusiatic and happy Wenger driving to school and ends [[spoiler: with him being driven away by the police in a state of absolute shock and sorrow]].

* DawsonCasting: Most of the students are played by actors in their twenties.

* FanNickname: The rich, blond bully is not given a name in the film (he is credited as Kevin). Fans refer to him as "German Malfoy".

* DiabolusExMachina: Again, [[spoiler:Tim's mental breakdown and suicide]].

* RealityIsUnrealistic: The most common complaint about the movie is that the ending is much more extreme than the real life event. WordOfGod says the ending was influenced by [[spoiler: the Emsdetten school shooting in 2006, when the film was scripted, where a 18-year old bully victim wounded 22 people and killed himself. In 2009, a year after the films release the Winnenden school shooting was perpetrated by another loner, this time a 17-year old boy with depression. His name?]]. [[HarsherInHindsight Tim]].

* RealityIsUnrealistic: The most common complaint about the movie is that the ending is much more extreme than the real life event. WordOfGod says the ending was influenced by [[spoiler: the Emsdetten school shooting in 2006, when the film was scripted, where a 18-year old bully victim wounded 22 people and killed himself. In 2009, a year after the films release the Winnenden school shooting was perpetrated by another loner, this time a 17-year old boy with depression. His name? [[HarsherInHandsight Tim]] ]].

** And in fact the English subtitling is even more blatant: he calls them "Nazis".