delaboy

Der Untergang is the best film to have appeared on screens for the last couple of years. No director, producer, actor, writer or even cinematographer has been able to capture and represent on screen something so powerful for a long time. This film exceeds even the highest expectations as it presents a body of work to teach and exhibit rather than to tell the story of the man that was Adolf Hitler.

Such subject matter has been tried and tested before with mediocre, stereotyping results that serve to condemn Hitler and his followers. Hitler WAS AN EVIL MAN - BUT WHAT THIS FILM DOES UNLIKE OTHERS, IS SHOW BOTH PARTS OF THAT STATEMENT...YES, HE WAS EVIL, BUT- HE WAS ALSO A MAN. Thus, it gives us the monster and the man - never forgiving him or excusing him. It shows us the disturbing truth of madness grappling society.

The film tells us how such atrocities can take place, how his followers were swept up by his charisma and personality (Bruno Ganz as you are probably aware is amazing in this film portraying the fuhrer so well that there is no doubt that he is Hitler), how madness finally outdid itself and how Hitler died.

Not for the faint hearted, Der Untergang is as shockingly brutal as it is mind-blowing beautiful. It paints a terrible beauty that was Berlin with haunting visuals of the underground chambers and mesmerising scenes of fire and chaos. It is both a condemnation and celebration of the human psyche and soul. Through great direction and acting we are shown the most low, horrific and dangerous of human capabilities whilst leaving us with an uplifting message of how life can go on.

THE DOWNFALL OF THE MOVIE'S TITLE IS NOT SO MUCH REFERRING TO HITLER'S BUT THAT OF ALL HUMANKIND. The message of this film is not concerned with the evils of Hitler but the verge of that evil within ourselves. THE BEST FILM I SAW IN CINEMAS IN 2005.

Bale is excellent(fantastic, amazing, brilliant, shockingly good) in the lead role with strong performances no matter how trivial they are from the rest of the supporting cast. Spielberg works to provide an amazing story here presented in strong emotive colors. The end result is excellence and although the director, yet again, dabbles a bit too far in sentimentality - he can be forgiven as what is produced is a rounded scope on humanity and how that can come through in such hard times. Scenes that resemble paintings of great art include the crowd sequence at the beginning along with the bombing scene and of course the salute. There is also an hilarious cameo from Ben Stiller although I don't think it was meant to be. A great film that is slightly underrated in history and closely resembles a work of art. Go see it.

To understand just where this film goes wrong is too easy. A bashing together of all sorts of skits loosely trying to hold together a story of four guys traveling across the Australian desert. Although overdone, the concept could have fulfilled its potential if actors were given definite characters and if the pace was slowed down a bit. It seems to lull about awhile trying to find its feet before magically coming to the perfect solution in the end. A film that optimizes Australian film making at the present. Whilst films like this are being made- with no real plot, definite characters or originality - the film industry in Australia will always lack the thunder and lightning it needs. Great fun until you realize it isn't.