Review of Downfall (1997) by Anthony A — 16 Nov 2011

A masterpiece on nearly every level imaginable. It is the only film that I know of to focus specifically on these events near the downfall of Hitler and his regime. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel has expertly crafted a film that conveys the utter chaos and emotional tragedy of the second world war as seen through the eyes of at least 7 impressively fleshed-out and explored people. Everything about the film is uniformly excellent: the acting, atmosphere, script, music, everything. In fact, it is difficult to find any fault aside from the fact that the final scene is metaphorical and not factual.

The stars of the show are Bruno Ganz as Hitler and Alexandra Maria Lara as Traudl Junge, Hitlers secretary (the main character). Ganz gives an astonishing performance as the founder of the Third Reich. He gives Hitler a human side though the script never lets us lose sight of the fact that, human or not, he was an evil monster with some seriously misguided views that cost the lives of millions. Lara is equally stunning as Hitler's stenographer, the girl who is hopelessly left in the dark as to the true goings-on of the German side of the war, thereby forming something of a bond with Hitler and Eva Braun. The emotional journey she is carried on is truly tragic, her escape from Berlin being the only really bright spot.

As said before, this film is a masterpiece on nearly every level. The fact that it comes from Germany itself (which has not released a film about Hitler since the 50s) only makes it more powerful. It's an enlightening, revelatory film that will make all but the stone-hearted shed tears. In the world of cinema and art, the film is a necessary one as it fills a big gap in the timeline shows us just how things probably were for the Germans and innocent civilians in 1945. This movie is a must-see for any and all movie-goers, history buffs, etc... Beware, though, there are some pretty graphic scenes that are definitely not for the faint-hearted.