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Plot: A chronicle depicting the birth, rise and downfall of the Baader-Meinhof terrorist gang, an organization of extreme leftwing inspiration that terrorised Germany from the late 60s to the 90s.

Comments: There are many reasons to recommend this film. On the surface it's a lean action film, not too different from those films that tell the rise and fall of legendary gangsters. It's very well shot, has good acting and moves at just the right pace (yep, the film is 150 minutes, but that's because there's much stuff to tell), and it's thoroughtly entertaining.

But what I found more fascinating was how inspired the film was when it came to depict the psicology of the terrorists. When the film starts, they are rather common people. Yes, they follow the news, they have a defined ideology, but there are also professionals and, in some cases, parents.

But once the decission to enforce their ideals with violence is taken everything changes. Despite their first efforts to minimize violence, they soon become blood simple. And as violence escalates, their minds start losing contact with reality. Methods move from arson and sabotage to cold blooded murder, and targets from right wing polititians and organisations to American bases, and when they feel the pressure of the the law, to policemen, judges, attorneys and even the media. What they don't like, they shoot, and then inmediately adapt their ideology to justify the killings. By the time the main members are captured and put to trial, they have become fanatic enough to put most religious cults to shame. And there's still an hour of movie left by then.