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The Wave
The Wave
7.0
/10
2,570 Ratings

THE WAVE

Die Welle

Directed by Dennis Gansel
Germany, 2008
Drama

Synopsis

During project week, German high school teacher Rainer Wenger comes up with an experiment in order to explain to his students how totalitarian governments work. A role-playing game with tragic results begins.

Synopsis

During project week, German high school teacher Rainer Wenger comes up with an experiment in order to explain to his students how totalitarian governments work. A role-playing game with tragic results begins.

Our take

This gripping drama calls to mind the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, one of the most captivating of psychological fallouts, where normal people so quickly embraced the roles of oppressor and oppressed, powerful and powerless. Here, the German setting carries its own dark depths.