Review of Valkyrie (2008) by Alexander C — 07 Dec 2012

''I'm a soldier, but in serving my country, I have betrayed my conscience.''Based on actual events, a plot to assassinate Hitler is unfurled during the height of WWII.Tom Cruise: Colonel Claus von StauffenbergThe story of Valkyrie starts by giving us a haunting memoir of the Nazi oath of allegiance to Hitler, a token of total obedience to the Fuhrer, to Hitler. We are given the title transitioning from German to English.

Valkyrie opens with a Colonel Stauffenberg in a Nazi campaign of Africa, penning in a personal journal his thoughts about World War II, and how he feels Hitler is destroying Germany. Stauffenberg states he took an oath to swear allegiance to Hitler, an oath we were given in the beginning of the film layed on the Nazi flag, but our Colonel feels he owes more to Germany, the Fatherland, Sacred Germany. Shortly after, he enlists the help of a general played by Bernard Hill, in a relatively small part, he agrees, yet tragically the camp in Africa is attacked, the general killed, and Stauffenberg is badly hurt, losing his eye, his right hand, and two fingers from his left hand.Then moving on, we are shown Hitler visiting a base camp in Germany, and a nervous General Trescow(Kenneth Branagh) onlooking. As Hitler prepares to depart, Trescow and an associate hide a bomb in a gift case of drink, and give to a man on Hitler's plane, but it fails to detonate in flight, and Trescow must return to headquarters to retrieve it. Once he arrives, he meets up with who is revealed as a fellow conspirator, a General Olbricht(twitchy Bill Nighy). Trescow safely retrieves the wine case and he and Olbrict discuss a member of their secret committee who was recently arrested. Trescow recommends Olbricht contact Colonel Stauffenberg as a replacement, which Olbricht does, and introduces Stauffenberg to one of the clandestine meetings.''To understand National Socialism, you must understand Wagner.''In the meeting, Stauffenberg meets three of the most important figures in the resistance. A Dr. Goerdeler, who will become Chancellor of Germany should the plot succeed, a General Beck, who will lead the Armed Forces, and a man named Witzleben. After tempers flare, Stauffenberg agrees to help. At a later meeting, Stauffenberg suggests they utilize Operation Valkyrie, which is a plan that uses the Reserve Army to keep amongst the Germany country should anything disrupt communications from Hitler, or should Hitler be killed. Stauffenberg rewrites the order to exclude the SS from taking control, which would leave the head of the Reserve Army, General Fromm, in charge of Germany. Reaching out to General Fromm, Stauffenberg and Olbricht are surprised at his rejection, but Fromm keeps quiet, choosing to neither support the dissenters nor reports them to the authorities. Meanwhile, General Trescow is sent to the front lines. Stauffenberg is promoted to head of the plan, and he, along with his assistant Lieutenant Haeften, take the order to the Berghof to be signed off by Hitler himself. Hitler, with his inner circle present, praises Stauffenberg's loss of appendages as the attitude necessary for his military, and states Stauffenberg is the ideal German. He then signs off on the bill, saying he's sure the changes are adequate.The Operation Valkyrie of the title, was a plan developed for the Reserve portion of the German Army and approved by Hitler himself. It was intended to be used in the event of a breakdown in law and order within Germany or the countries it occupied, a breakdown caused by Hitler's death or civil unrest. A group of officers who were a part of the German Resistance to Hitler, could see the way the war was heading, that Europe was being laid waste and Germany was losing, and they were also disturbed at aspects of Nazi rule - the Death Camps for instance and the killing of civilians ? so they plotted to kill Hitler and utilize an amended Operation Valkyrie for their own ends to take control of the nation after Hitler's death and to negotiate a truce with the Allies. If it had worked, they would have used Hitler's own plan against him. But crucial to the plan was Hitler's death. The plot was aborted once, and when finally carried out in 1944, failed to kill its target. Poor communication, indecision on the part of some of the plotters and a late start in implementing Valkyrie led to complete failure and within hours all the plotters had been rounded up and executed.''You can serve Germany, or the Fuhrer. Not both!''The plot was lead by Colonel Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) who was put in charge of Valkyrie and made Chief of Staff to General Fromm, after being badly injured fighting in N. Africa. He had access to Hitler but was also to be vital in the follow up to the assassination, which according to a source I read, ruled out a suicide attack. Which was a pity, because as I watched this, I couldn't help pondering how much the course of history might have been changed had Stauffenberg chosen the current favoured method of assassins, the suicide bomb. Had he got closer to Hitler at that fateful meeting and sacrificed himself, instead of leaving the bomb under a solidly built wooden table which helped shield the Fuhrer from the blast, the whole course of history since 1944 might have been different. Still, it wasn't to be. Hitler was dead anyway nine months later, committing suicide in his Berlin bunker as the Allies approached. Berlin was carved up amongst the Allies, the Death Camps were finally liberated and the Cold War began.

Tom Wilkinson plays General Fromm, who was commander of the Reserve Army, and the only person apart from Hitler who could put Operation Valkyrie into effect. He ordered the execution of Stauffenberg and the other plotters but was himself executed in 1945. Other plotters included Colonel von Quirnheim (Christian Berkel), Lieutenant von Haeften (Jamie Parker), General Beck (Terence Stamp making a rare appearance as a good guy) and Fellgiebel (comedian Eddie Izzard, who is the most miscast Nazi I've ever seen) They all excel with their roles and scripting, apart from under-used Branagh and weird Izzard. The location shooting is perfect, often using the real life settings in Germany (for instance the plotters are executed by firing squad in the courtyard of the real Bendlerstrasse.) The lack of German accents (widely commented on) is quite appropriate. Given that everyone in the movie would have been speaking German, there is no need to give them distracting accents at all. The use of accents is really only necessary when the audience is expected to distinguish between several different nationalities in a movie, this to me felt like a Boy in the striped pyjamas or Schindler's List manner of usage language wise, in the sense it works because of the audience and Western world it is aimed at.Overall, Valkyrie is a historical, accurate portrayal of a group willing to stand up against corruption and decadence, a man whom sacrifices so much for his Country and one whom is willing to stand up to a sadistic mass murdering proclaimed dictator. This film Bryan Singer has given us, works, it clicks and it also gives us a tense thriller laced with intrigue and a story that needs telling, needs emphasis and passion in it's passionate attempts to take us back to a time of great suffering and injustice. With most films with this type of plot and story telling we know the end, but that's not what's compelling, it's the journey.''Long live sacred Germany!''.