La chute

Now here is a novel idea, making a movie from the "enemy's" point of view, attaching a human face to probably the most notorious institute of evil in human history. Before watching this film, I had reservations over how much I would enjoy it and what I might gain from it. I was concerned that the film may be an attempt to show the human side of the Nazi party, to make us sympathetic not to their cause, but to their human nature. I had to think to myself, do I really want to attach a human element to people who history has painted as monsters? The film begins with Hitler recruiting Traudl Junge as a new secretary in 1942, from this point onwards the film is predominantly (but not entirely) seen through her eyes. This key scene at the beginning of the film shows how people reacted to their leader with fanatical loyalty, holding him high in reverence. This gives us a brief insight into the belief of his followers that what they were doing would lead them to a golden utopia, a better world. All to often in films concerning Nazi's, they are portrayed as evil personified, killing for killing's sake, being evil for the sake of being evil. What we get throughout this film is a more realistic viewpoint of people's attitudes. The people who followed Hitler may have no entirely agreed with everything he said, may have not hung on his every word, but believed that he would lead them to a greater future, as such they followed.

Bruno Ganz, does a magnificent job of playing one of history's most notorious and documented individuals. He plays the role as, what I feel, accurately and realistically as possible. He resists the temptation to play Hitler as an uber-evil super-villain, disregarding all life who opposes him and wiping out humans at a whim. He plays the roles as an ageing leader, loosing grip on his health, his sanity and his conquest. A man who was kind, considerate and caring to children, his dog and his civilian staff, but who also attempted to wipe out an entire race of people and was proud of himself for doing it. It shows a man willing to send young children into the street to resist enemy advancement, it shows a man who believes that the civilian population would not be evacuated, as it was their chance to rise up (women and children, the old and sick, un armed) and prove they deserved victory. This film raises the question, was Hitler an evil man who practised evil deeds through his beliefs? or were his evil deeds a result of his absolute pursuit of his beliefs? Watching Ganz's performance, you get the feeling all Hitler had left before he took his life, was his ideals (not that this is anything to be proud of). He had lost the war, he had lost the respect of several of his commanding officers and he had lost his grip on reality.

The film also shows Hitler's closest officers and staff, it shows how they react to the downfall. Some have blind and fanatical faith that Hitler will act as their saviour and devise a scheme to turn the battle around. Some accept that their leader has lost his grip, but follow with blind devotion anyway. Some are not so sure and see the cracks in the beliefs they were fighting for. The film shows these often horrifying moments and realisations in all to realistic detail.

Ultimately, Downfall shows the human and personal element of the end of the war for Hitler and the Nazis. It shows how real people, people who tell jokes, drink, socialise, listen to songs and dance, also followed national socialism with a devotion that drove them to do the terrible things they did. It shows how they did not believe what they were doing was wrong, in their minds they were paving the way for their glorious future. It also shows their fanatical devotion and blind faith in their goal, led to their downfall, both as a movement and as human beings.

Downfall is an amazing and powerful film, documenting an unseen side of a major historical event. The film ends with video footage of the real Traudl Junge talking about her feelings towards the war and he involvement with the Nazis. She says that when she first became involved with the Nazis, she was in awe of their power and beliefs, she may have not agreed with everything they did, but what difference would her being involved or not make? She was ignorant to their deeds and as such held a clean conscience. Then she says has realised over time she had the power not to be ignorant to their deeds, that she should have stayed away from them, realising them for the evil that they were. I felt she was warning what ignorance can lead to, that no matter how tiny one person is in the scheme of things, it is no excuse to contribute towards the wrong cause.

Excellent historical film, highly recommended.

'Der Untergang' is probably the only WW2 movie I've ever seen, which only deals with facts and is utterly deprived of any form of commercialism whatsoever. Bruno Ganz is truly excellent in his role as Adolf Hitler, a tired man who sees his "Reich" fall, but cannot accept it. Overall (type)casting is very good; all the actors chosen to portray a famous/notorious character look a lot like the real deal, especially Goebbels. Although I'm not a fan of long war movies, these 2,5 hours passed very quickly due to excellent acting, great sets, FX and storyline. Somehow, every scene is dripping with underlying tension that never really explodes; a kind of unsettling unbelieved grips you when you see seemingly ordinary people commit astonishing atrocities and sins towards mankind, just for their faith and loyalty to one man, Hitler, who himself walks the edge of reason.

Great movie : 10/10 without a doubt.

The first internationally released German production to feature Hitler as a central figure, "Downfall" (2004) takes place in the dismal gloomy Berlin during April - May 1945 in anticipation of the inevitable German defeat. The film shows the last days of Hitler and those close to him through the eyes of his young secretary, Traudl Junge.

Oliver Hirschbiegel's film has been criticized by some circles as presenting a "too sympathetic" portrait of the Fuhrer. I don't believe anything in the film suggests that its creators sympathize with the Nazi regime and those who had orchestrated it.

Showing Hitler as a human being (amazing performance by Bruno Ganz), a man who loved his dog, was a vegetarian and could display some moments of tenderness did not undermine the overall image of a lonely, domineering, conscienceless, and hateful man who believed that his people, his compatriots, women and children deserve to die because they are no longer deserve to live and because "in a war as such there are no civilians".

Did those who think that that the film "humanized" Hitler forget the most chilling scene in the movie, the one that shows Frau Goebbels crush the ampoules with cyanide between her children's teeth, after they had been dosed with a sleeping draught? She did it not because she was scared of what would happen to them after the war, no, her reason was, "The country without National Socialism and its party is not worth living in". How dangerous Hitler was if he could induce such a blind devotion that could convince a mother of six to murder her children in cold blood.

Bernd Eichinger, the producer and scriptwriter of "Downfall" emphasized, the greatest danger he saw in making a film about Hitler was the temptation to show him as a psychopath or madman: "Hitler possessed an enormous criminal and destructive energy, and he was a barbarian in the most fundamental sense of the term... But I am convinced that he was totally of sound mind until the very end, which is why leadership never slipped from his hands."

The film's director Oliver Hirschbiege says that, in the same way it was evil of Hitler to see Jews as less than human beings - i.e. as "insects" - it would be equally wrong to portray Hitler as a madman, because that would excuse him of culpability: "I think the biggest mistake is to have an image of Hitler as insane - that he was not a human being but a monster. The most important point to realize is that Hitler was not a madman, not a psychopath or someone on drugs, which implies that he wasn't responsible for what he was doing. Of course he was responsible! "For me, (this film is) paying homage to and truly honoring the victims, because we fall short if we explain the Holocaust by stating that they were all out of their minds. They knew what they were doing!"

I believe that the result of their work, the film I saw last night is absolutely unforgettable - honest, powerful and devastating. It is a masterwork of film-making and a very important in its objectivity historical document.

9.5/10

I would give this an 7.5 or 8, if it were not for Bruno Ganz. In fact, I will dare say that the biggest crime surrounding this film is that Ganz was not lauded with every single acting award available. Never before has such dimensionality and care been applied to a performance of, quite possibly, the most vile human who ever lived (with the exception, perhaps, of his cohort Himmler). It's a confusing, sharp yet tender mix of sorrow, pity, anger, and ultimately, frustration.

Initially, I figured this would be a very low budget chamber piece. But it is as epic in scope as a Spielberg war film, with effects to match. A real surprise. But don't be fooled by eye candy. Der Untergang is a human story. It is an amazing built film. And it is unreal. A must-see.

Not since perhaps Rod Steiger's portrayal of Benito Mussolini in Moustapha Akkad's LION OF THE DESERT (1980) have I seen a notorious dictator more realistically acted than Bruno Ganz's stunning display as "Der Fuerer" in The Downfall (2004).

Sitting amongst a full-house of patrons here at the Toronto Int'l Film Festival's 2004 edition, Ganz captivated the local audience with the scariest Hitler I've ever seen up on the silver screen -- better than Noah Taylor's English Hitler in MAX just a couple of years back.

Audience members get a glimpse into the final days of Hitler's rule from the bunker deep beneath the Reich Chancellery in Nazi Berlin's dying days. The defeated spirit of the Nazis -- covered extensively in the history books -- has seldomly been more penetratingly shown on the Big Screen. Bravo to director Oliver Hirschbiegel for doing this the right (German) way -- for intrepidly tackling a period piece few German producers might.

I'd had a chance to chat with the actors post-screening, with lead actress Alexandra Maria Lara (playing Traudl Junge) candidly admitting the sheer amount of work she'd diligently invested in bringing her character to life -- doubtless complicated by the death of Frau Junge in 2002. Her research, however, was clearly impeccable and left no stone unturned. Corinna Harfouch wasn't on hand -- as Magda Goebbels. Pity because in many respects, she convincingly stole the show.

So rarely do we see Hitler on screen in modern days to allow us a glimpse into the horrifying nature of a madman bent on global domination. We all know the end of this story, but seldom does a film so masterfully suspend your disbelief than does The Downfall in making you wonder just how the Third Reich might end. Historical fiction might never be the same.