Review of Downfall (2004) by Farron K — 09 Aug 2015

The foreign film classic that depicts the fall of the Third Reich from within. This movie depicts the end of Hitler's empire through the eyes of his young secretary who, if the juxtaposition is to be believed, retold all of this decades later before her death.

Alexandra Maria Lara does a great job as the secretary, and Bruno Ganz is the most believable Hitler one could imagine. Corinna Harfouch as Goebbels' wife is a beautiful, crazy witch who would rather murder her children than let them live in a world without Hitler.

Ulrich Matthes portrays Goebbels as unrepentantly brainwashed as ever, but Heino Ferch impressed me greatly with his portrayal of Albert Speer. It feels rather odd to have something resembling admiration and sympathy for a convicted war criminal.

Christian Berkel as Dr. Schenck is like a morally-driven Ed Norton, Thomas Kretschmann is the German Jaime Lannister, and Andre Hennicke is amazing as the no-bullshit field officer. Michael Mendl showed what it means to be a real man, Birgit Minichmayr is a solid supporting female actress, and Donevan Gunia is a great child actor.

Really, the whole cast was excellent. My only real problem with the film was that it never really left me with that sense of deep feeling that I get from other movies I rate 5/5, but overall, it was deserving of the honor.

If you've ever wanted a war movie that had little fighting and lots of drama, this is it. Definitely a rarity.