Das Experiment (2001)

Das Experiment: Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. With Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Berkel, Oliver Stokowski, Wotan Wilke Möhring. For two weeks, 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards in a prison. The “prisoners” have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the “guards” are told to retain order without using physical violence.

“This is an overwhelming film. I have not been so affected – physically – since I was run over by u0026quot;Terminator 2u0026quot; ten years ago.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you have any claustrophobic tendencies or if you find it hard to endure situations of powerlessness, this film will be a total nightmare for you. But I urge you to see it anyway…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe acting is superb and the directing is moderate and intelligent. As a result, the potentially predictable story becomes very unpredictable. Its surprise effects are not sudden. You get plenty of time to realize what is about to happen (and how little you or anybody else can do about it…).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAt one time, despite being almost completely absorbed by the suspense, I was able to look away from the screen and notice that I was sitting in a movie theater, at a safe distance from the experiment. Thank God!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy grade: 10 out of 10!”