The Edukators (2004) on Netflix
In Berlin, Jan and Peter break into wealthy homes, leaving notes as the Edukators. Peter's girlfriend Jule, deep in debt to a businessman, pulls Jan into a break-in at his house.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.4/1033,174 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes70%
Trailer
Plot summary
Jule waits tables in Berlin and owes a hundred thousand euros to a businessman named Hardenberg, after her car struck his Mercedes; the payments stretch over eight years. When she is evicted for unpaid rent, she moves in with her boyfriend Peter and his best friend Jan, who are away from the flat most nights. Peter is in Barcelona when Jan explains the outings: he and Peter get into rich people's houses, shift the furniture about and leave messages saying the owners have too much money. Jule persuades a hesitant Jan to let them into Hardenberg's villa in Zehlendorf while the owner is away. They kiss inside; a light switches on and they leave. Jule then realizes her phone is still in the house, and she and Jan go back for it.
Cast
- Laura Schmidtas Tochter Laura
- Sebastian Butzas Sohn
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Edukators (2004)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Hans Weingartner turned down an offer from an American studio that he said was big enough that "I would not have to work for the rest of my life", and made The Edukators on a low budget instead, funded by a €250,000 loan he took out with his parents' house as collateral.
- The Edukators got a 10-minute standing ovation at its 2004 Cannes premiere and was the first German film in competition there since Wim Wenders' Faraway, So Close! in 1993.
- Jule was the hardest part to cast: Hans Weingartner searched for eight months, and Julia Jentsch was committed to another film when he found her, so he rescheduled filming because he was certain she was "the perfect cast".
- Hans Weingartner calls The Edukators autobiographical, with Daniel Brühl playing him; it draws on his past as a political activist and describes the last 10 years of his life and his search for a political movement that satisfied his ideals.
- In 2006 a left-wing group calling itself "Hamburg for Free" dressed as superheroes and stole food from upper-class stores to hand to the underclass; the media treated the crimes as inspired by The Edukators, and some protesters carried banners reading "Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei".
