Review of Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005) by Jess H — 05 Jan 2008

Julia Jentsch offers a flawless and moving performance as Sophie Scholl, a student of conscience working in the White Rose Movement. The story is a foregone conclusion as the title implies, but it's gripping nonetheless.

This is especially true of the leaflet drop in the opening act. Scholl's undying faith to ideas of freedom and justice make you hope against hope that she will survive. The film leaves the viewer with a feeling of wonder and gratefulness that there have been and are people like her, but also a sense of tragedy that there are so few and many meet such terrible ends.