Review of Downfall (2004) by Patc. — 01 May 2006
Engrossing if drawn out exposition of the final days of the people at the heart of the 3rd Reich. Doesn't explain much, but doesn't obscure either. Rather than develop the characters, the film successfully presents a tour de force of people clueless while the hell they have facilitated on others turns on them and savages their cherished beliefs.
These people had assumed the lives of others as expendable, so their own lives do not merit our empathy, specifically in the days of this story when their world is collapsing and no one has a safe place to indulge in self importance.
Yet a sense of empathy is provoked nonetheless, not because we care about these people but because of the tragedy and waste of their misdirected mindsets that could easily have been our own. The film ends with a sense of emptiness reminiscent of a bad film, but within this particular emptiness simmers valuable understanding that alludes to how the German people rose from their ashes.
The acting is generally straightforward as it should be, with the exception of Mrs. Goebbels last hour with her husband and children - probably some of the finest acting ever committed to film.
This review of Downfall (2004) was written by Patc. on 01 May 2006.
Downfall has generally received very positive reviews.
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