Synopsis
On December 21, 1975, six terrorists from the Revolutionary Cells, led by Carlos 'The Jackal' forced their way into the conference room of the OPEC headquarters in Vienna and took 70 ministers hostage. A gun battle with the police ensued, and three people were killed. One terrorist was seriously wounded. The terrorists managed to escape to Algiers with a few hostages and the wounded man. There the hostages were released. The wounded terrorist was Hans-Joachim Klein.
The documentary shows how the personal events in the life of an individual can lead to radicalism and terrorism. Director Alexander Oey reconstructs the life of Hans-Joachim Klein and unravels Klein's earlier choice for terrorism. Oey films his daily existence in the Normandy countryside while Klein tells his life story. They travel back to Germany and meet Klein's old friends such as European parliament member Daniel Cohn-Bendit. Can they remember the moment when a divergence of opinions arose between those who became radical and those who decided to remain on a straight path?
Highlights of the Lowlands selection 2005