Review of Downfall (2004) by Jay R — 13 Feb 2011

Evil. When you think of a person that represents that word best, you immediately think of Adolf Hitler. As evil as he was, he definitely knew how to rally his troops and speak to his people. Watching Downfall gave me and incredible sense of dread and amazement at his power of those close to him, and his own suffering ideology. By no means is this an easy watch, as the outcome is already known. It gave me the same gut wrenching feeling I had while watching Paul Greengrass's United 93. Knowing the doomed when they do not is sometimes unbearable. All depression aside, Downfall is a powerful account of the last days of the Hitler regime.

I salute the filmmakers for being as accurate as they possibly could, and for their storytelling abilities. However, knowing that these people are going to die gets very tiresome after awhile. United 93 never bored us because of the heroic efforts and genuine likability of the cast. The deal breaker is that you don't want these people to die. We know Hitler is evil, and I felt relief when I knew he was going to die. But then it feels like a big waiting game for those I knew were going to die with him. Instead of being involved in the cinematic and dark themes of the film, such as loyalty, political brainwash, and those on the front lines of battle, I was being forced to care about evil characters that I knew were receiving justice. I understand this is accurate on all accounts, but I just wasn't moved by this at all.

That is the films really biggest and only flaw. Incredibly filmed from all perspectives, director Oliver Hirschbiegel paints a hopeless despair of Germany's brainwashed ideology and the acceptance of defeat. Hitler's seemingly invincible blanket has finally shattered, and those close now have to choose between dying with honour for their leader, or being sensible and saving their own lives. Staying close to Hitler's select group of leaders, we see how dying is virtually the only choice for these people. It's sickening, but brilliant.

Downfall also shows the impact the war had on children. The children we're either raised to be apart of Hitler's new perfect race, or used on the front lines. There is a scene in this movie that goes beyond disturbing and is plain horrific. It sums up how flawed this fascist movement was in a single scene by flooring us with the unthinkable. Once again, to not die for the Fuher, seems to be a crime within itself.

Hitler himself is such a memorable character here. Bruno Ganz is brilliant at the infamous leader, going on tirades about Germany, completely disregarding all human life in the name of his beliefs. He sold his crazy beliefs to those who followed him so convincingly, it's hard to believe you'll be admiring who he was. But you will, and it's scary. How the people of Germany who decided to flee deserve to die, then he is able to turn right around and say everything he has done was for the people of Germany. Your not sure if Hitler was losing his mind, or if that is just who he was. But if there's one thing you have to admire, is that he would never surrender, not ever in the face of the enemy. His integrity is how many followed him. And also why few survived.

Never for a second showing compassion, the final days of Hitler are incredibly acted and filmed. The cinematography is gorgeous, mixing the high life of the underground bunker, to the violent, dirty and forlorn street of Berlin. The sad thing is Hitler could have had a chance if just wasn't such a strong individual. He could have fled Germany, and retaliated from another location. He could have given up, but he didn't. Downfall looks at Hitler fairly from all angles, analyzing his status, why he rose to power, and, as the title suggests, his downfall. It's a great film never blinking in the face of atrocity and disregarding of human life. As Hitler said "In a war as such, there are no civilians". So who is at fault? The fool, or the fool who follows?