Review of Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005) by Nalina M — 24 Mar 2008

There's not a whole lot I can say to pick this one apart. It's well acted. It tells the story well. In this year of important, political films, it tells an important story. If anything, I would say that the movie is hamstrung by the heroism of its heroine. I just kept wondering: is anyone really that GOOD? Sophie is portrayed as a near-saint - and maybe she was...who knows? - but not once does her commitment to the cause waiver, never do you see her indulge in a moment of doubt or fear or regret. She just seems too good to be true and somehow that lessened the impact of the film for me. I mean sure, you get that it's a waste of a talented life and you see the horrors of the totalitarian state. They even make it pretty clear that there are corollaries between Germany 1940 and now, but by turning Sophie into a saint, they make it seem that you have to be almost super-human to make a difference. In these times, I don't think that is the message we need to hear. And I'm pretty sure it's not what the filmmakers wanted us to feel. You don't have to be a genius to see why this film was made at this particular time. It succeeds in being a warning, but it could also have been a call to arms. But with a saint as their example, I just kept asking myself "Am I that good? Could I have done that?" and the way they had her portrayed I had to answer "no". I think most people would. Somehow it distanced me from their struggle for justice and freedom; made the movie into a history lesson instead of inspiring me to carry on their cause.

So if it didn't inspire me to action, it did raise an interesting question: what does it take? How bad do things have to get before action is taken? I don't mean to be overly paranoid, but I look around and I see warning signs: small freedoms lost without even a murmur from us, and each time apathy, ignorance or fear of sticking your head up causes us to let something go, it makes it easier to lose another freedom. That was the chain of events in Germany back then. And if someone had stood up when things were still small and easily contained, Hitler might never have happened to the world. Sophie's sacrifice might not have been necessary. But they didn't stand up and no one is standing up now. So how bad does it have to get? Is it in human nature to wait until a sacrifice of heroic proportions is called for before we are willing to act? Does it have to be life or death before we realise something is wrong? So maybe the film is trying to ask us if we have it in us to be modern Sophies. Maybe it is trying to wake us up so we can fight her fight before it becomes a life or death struggle.

I'll end my political rant. It's a good movie. It makes you think. Well worth seeing, but in the vein of Syriana, Munich, Paradise Now, etc. if you are looking to be simply entertained, this is not the movie for you. It seems this is the season for heavy-hitting political dramas.