The Wave

Name: The Wave
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Released: 2008-03-13
Cast: Jürgen Vogel, Frederick Lau, Max Riemelt, Jennifer Ulrich, Christiane Paul

2008 | 107 min | Drama, Thriller

Saturday Special

Why it’s a Saturday Special

Audiences rate it highly (7.5 out of 10) and it made about 4 times its budget. A strong pick for the weekend.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it: Made for anyone who likes to be kept guessing.
The mood: Tense.
The pace: Takes its time with its characters, at 1 hr 47 min.
What might put you off: It's in German, so expect subtitles (or a dub).

A school teacher discusses types of government with his class. His students find it too boring to repeatedly go over national socialism and believe that dictatorship cannot be established in modern Germany. He starts an experiment to show how easily the masses can become manipulated.

How it earned its rating

CriticsSolid
67% on Rotten Tomatoes
AudiencesStrong
7.5 out of 10
AwardsWeak
0 wins and 2 nominations from smaller awards and festivals
Box office & staying powerStrong
$32 million worldwide on a $8 million budget; spent 2 weeks in Netflix's global Top 10; still draws a steady audience long after release
Buzz & cultural impactSolid
About 86K people sought it out in the past year