November 28 2005
The Edukators
Three German twenty-somethings spend their days and unfocused energy protesting society’s ailments. Picketing shoe stores over third world child labor practices is a thankless task, so the young idealists take things to the next level. Breaking into the estates of vacationing rich folks, they creatively rearrange the furniture and leave vaguely threatening notes signed “The Edukators.” The team’s shenanigans make small waves in the papers, adding fuel to the fire of their micro-revolution. The trio gets careless with one not-so-random target and are backed into a corner when caught in the act. They take the homeowner hostage while trying to quell their panic and figure a way out of their escalating mess. The Edukators has a good premise and a lot of potential up until this halfway point, at which it quickly fizzles out. There’s interesting and thoughtful commentary on the perpetuity of rebellious generations, and the similarities between the satisfaction of sticking it to the man and the thrill of vandalism. Unfortunately the story completely grinds to a halt and delivers the wussiest ending possible.
