The Baader Meinhof Complex

Overstuffed drama crams ten years worth of history on the notorious 1960-70s West German terrorist group, the Red Army Faction (RAF), reducing it to re-enactments (albeit with some ferocious acting) with not much explanation for those not already familiar with the history. Left-wing journalist Ulricke Meinhof (Gedeck) uses the German government's heavy-handed reaction to student demonstrations to leave behind her life as a prosaic middle-class wife and mother. Instead, she becomes involved in the political activities of Andreas Baader (Bleibtrue) and Gudrun Ensslin (Wokalek) that were transformed from idealism to nihilism and violence, including bombings, hijackings, kidnappings, jailbreaks, and assassinations. Adapted from the book by Stefan Aust. English, German, French, and Arabic with subtitles.