Review of Downfall (2004) by Filipeneto — 28 Jun 2018

This is simply the film transposition of the memories of the last secretary of Adolf Hitler, the Bavarian girl Traudl Junge. Its a historical document in film, insofar as its absolutely faithful to facts and history.

Hitler was a man with a magnetic charisma and personality, who manipulated people and created in Germany a powerful cult of the leader, through which he became almost unassailable, doing everything he wanted without anyone having the possibility of oppose.

We can imagine this manipulative power seeing his generals shaking as ill-behaved boys in one of its most famous scenes. We watch everything: the dictator commanding imaginary troops, inventing plans and dream cities, but also directing, in a ruthlessly and cunning way, the few that were faithful to him until the end.

The gap between the reality in and off the bunker and the general insensitivity to the suffering of the country is brutally glaring. The actors are illustrious strangers, to the extent that I have never heard of any of them, but the work developed is enough for the film to work very well.

In fact, the film is not an acting show, although its good. The value of the film is in the script and story told, no matter how well known it is. It has very strong scenes, some of them absolutely unsuitable for minors and more sensitive people.