Name: NeueWut
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2005-07-28
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Cast: Frank Bsirske, Wolfgang Clement, Andreas Ehrholdt

Ridiculizing and trivializing grass root democracy

NeueWut was massively promoted in Germany by left-wing unionists and even by some independent left-wing intellectuals. People claimed it were a touching documentary of social protest inspiring hope and courage.

You could not be farther from the truth. What is shown is mostly hopeless blundering of people who have little or no experience in political activism and who mostly lack any theoretical background. Those people largely show courage and hope, but that makes the obvious futility of their efforts only harder to bear. Still worse, several of the main characters are on the verge of lunacy and should care about their mental stability and maturity rather than trying to become politicians - experience shows the kind of badly directed protest such people develop will sooner or later drift off to right-wing extremism.

If at least the film-maker would depict his characters with some basic respect... Instead, he hands them in to ridiculousness by exposing their utterly private weaknesses and mental disorders to the general public. This should not be done to any human beings, even if they must be criticized for misdirected political activism.

The social movement of the "Montagsdemonstrationen" (monday manifestations) in Germany truly lacked political maturity, theoretical foundation and clarity of political objectives. But this film picks out some its worst aspects, drawing a misleading caricature of what happened on the streets during those months of activism. There were hopeful approaches to grass root democracy and countless other nice aspects to this social movement that could have been described - had the film-maker been seriously interested in the progress of social equality and freedom. Instead, the message of this film amounts to the following arrogant insolence: In post-modern times, political activism against right-wing libertarian rollback is nothing but the despicable and absurd hobby of manic losers.

After viewing the film in a self-governing sociocultural youth center in Heidelberg that is rather famous for its brilliant selection of little known to unknown political films (and which was crowded to the brim with nearly twenty people on that evening), i felt utterly depressed. If the political culture of Germany were what this film will make us think, we could as well commit suicide now.

If you know anything about social movements in Germany, don't waste your time on this one. If you don't know much about Germany yet, don't let this film form your prejudices.

German cinema is famous for its historical depth, expressionist aesthetics, and social-political engagement. It has moved from Expressionism to political reckoning, from New German Cinema's raw realism to contemporary genre experiments. Its legacy lies in both technical innovation and deep explorations of history, morality, and philosophy.

The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

After social cuts in Germany by the social-democratic (SPD) government, weekly demonstrations and other protests crop up throughout the country in 2004. Is this a new movement, and will it have a lasting effect?

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood's perfect pairs.

Hollywood Power Couples

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s perfect pairs.

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

NeueWut

Photos

Top Cast14

User reviews2

Related interests

Storyline

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed