Your Days of Plenty are Numbered!!!

When a film not only entertains and intrigues viewers, but also informs and affects their perspective on life, it passes from the cluttered corridor of decent flicks into the realm of greatness. Hans Weingartner's The Edukators is such a film. The threat always looms over leftie productions that the dialogue will lapse into pointless sermonizing and inevitably lose the casual viewer to the demons of indifference and contempt. But this is doctrine with a difference. It explores, questions and highlights both the nuances and the anomalies of idealistic socialism and the cancer it tries to cure, while also delivering a powerful and at times touching discourse on love's vaunted role in the human condition. Daniel Bruhl excels in the lead role as the brooding anti-establishmentarian brought out of his shell by the beautiful but debt-haunted Jule (Julia Jentsch). Jan (Bruhl) and Jule's boyfriend Peter (Stipe Erceg) are anarcho-situational terrorists who simply break into the houses of wealthy fellow citizens, 'rearrange' the furniture and leave haunting messages. Their aim is to awaken within these vulgar materialists both fear and insecurity, as they believe that the rich in society dominate the masses through the inculcation of fear. A taste of their own medicine, if you like. It works. However, while Peter is in Barcelona, Jan decides to let Jule in on the scene. She decides she would like to 'edukate' the man who has ruined her life; a seriously rich businessman whose Mercedes she crashed into while uninsured. However, all goes horribly wrong when they are caught in the act, and forced to kidnap the fat cat. The three heroes retreat to the mountains with their hostage - who turns out to be of socialist vintage himself - and during their time together a discourse prevails between the eager youngsters intent on changing the world and the child of '68, who has been there, done that, bought the t-shirt...and burned the fucking thing. Much fat is chewed. And Jeff Buckley gets an airing too. Halleluiah!
The film asks some hard questions of idealists who get older and plump for the widescreen telly instead of the May Day rally. The advent of children in one's life, it seems, dilutes the desire for a different approach. All is sacrificed in the name of protecting your little ones from the horrible world you once sought to change. If the radical left is to evolve and provide some credible answers to the morons who say there is no other way, this problem has to be comprehensively tackled. Every generation has its task.
Because the challenge remains to convert those who have accepted the capitalist way of doing things. I'm no challenge for the left. I agree with socialist principles. It's those who believe that happiness must be attained through fumbling in the greasy till, every person who honestly believes that the new leather suite, or the right brandy glass will lead to fulfilment, who provide the real challenge to those seeking change. Not the elite, or wishy washy sympathizers like me. Our minds are already made up. Let's start gnawing away at the billions in between. The Edukators represents a good base from which to proceed, mainly because it is extremely funny and quirky and presents socialism from a human perspective as opposed to the archetypal image of the trundling statist behemoth that dominates public perception of the left. Ten out of ten to Mr. Weingartner, the man with with vision...and the sense of humour. Now go and see this film. Tell them I sent you.

"Don't let them ever fool you,
Or take you by surprise.
The Dirty smell of the politician
And the man with the greed in his eyes
One big union, that's our plan
And the IWW's your only man
The flames of discontent we'll fan
For the cause that never dies."

Andy Irvine Never Tire of the Road