The Raspberry Reich

The Raspberry Reich
U.S. release DVD cover art
Directed byBruce LaBruce
Written byBruce LaBruce
Produced byJürgen Brüning
StarringSusanne Sachsse
Daniel Bätscher
Andreas Rupprecht
Dean Monroe
Anton Dickson
Daniel Fettig
Ulrike Schirm
Sherry Vine
CinematographyJames Carman
Kristian Petersen
Edited byJörn Hartmann
Distributed byPeccadillo Pictures (UK)
Release date
  • 2004 (2004)
Running time
90 minutes
Countries
  • Germany
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish
Box office$31,211

The Raspberry Reich is a 2004 film by director Bruce LaBruce which explores what LaBruce calls "terrorist chic", cult dynamics, and the "innate radical potential of homosexual expression". It is about a contemporary terrorist group who set out to continue the work of the Red Army Faction (RAF), also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang. The group consists of several young men and a female leader named Gudrun (after Gudrun Ensslin). All of the characters are named after either original members of the Baader-Meinhof Gang or revolutionaries such as Che Guevara.

They call themselves the "Sixth Generation of the Baader-Meinhof Gang" and "The Raspberry Reich". "Reich" is a reference to communist sexologist Wilhelm Reich. In addition, the term "Raspberry Reich" was coined by RAF leader Gudrun Ensslin to refer to the oppression of consumer society. An "uncut" version of the film has been released, titled The Revolution Is My Boyfriend, edited by the gay pornographic film company Cazzo Film to include erotic scenes edited out in the original version.