The Wave is a memorable drama

The Wave

Director: Dennis Gansel

Cast: Jurgen Vogel, Frederick Lau, Jennifer Ulrich

Cert: 15

A strong drama set around the ease in which totalitarianism can be introduced into and readily absorbed by a society, either as a country – Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Spain – or as a group of school students.

This harrowing and deeply effective film is based on a true-life incident in which, to arouse the indifference of his class, a teacher set up an experimental ‘state’ in his classroom with himself as the leader … a ‘state’ which his students embrace with zeal, calling the ‘movement’ the Wave of the title.

The film is set in Germany but, interestingly, the original experiment took place in a Californian school … evil can be found anywhere.

Vogel plays Herr Wenger, the teacher, and the drama plays out with frightening ease in a film that is particularly excellent in its classroom scenes.

A thoughtful and worrying storyline and a quite memorable film.

Star Rating: 4/5