Die weiße Rose

Read the book first then watch the movie

I found the video interesting and decided to read the book. I did get what I wanted from the book and that was the background that did not have time to be shown in the movie.

Sophie Magdalena Scholl (Lena Stolze), tells the story of her brothers' participation in being a dissident and distributing anti-government leaflets in WWII Germany and their eventual outcome. They called themselves The White Rose.

The rating stars are not because of the subject content. They are for delivery. I did get what I wanted from the book and that was the background that did not have time to be shown in the movie. Aside from the actual leaflets, Inge Scholl does a good job of building up the drama as newer and weirder restrictions are being applied to the German public.

This is the (close as you are going to get to the truth) story of an underground movement from within Germany by people that never thought they would be doing this. Aside from the actual leaflets, Inge Scholl does a good job of building up the drama as newer and weirder restrictions are being applied to the German public. The movie has more impact. You will want to watch it again for the things you missed while thinking of what you heard and saw.

If you find this story interesting then a good follow-up film is La ragazza terribile (1990).

"Die Weisse Rose"(The White Rose)is a movie about resistance against Hitler and The Nazi-pary("NSDAP")INSIDE Nazi-Germany. It is hard for many people(especially Americans)to believe that not all Germans were Nazis and followed Hitler. The movie is about a resistance group called "The White Rose" at the university in Munich("München" in German), and it also describes how many people didn`t now about what happened at the front, with Russian prisoners-of-war and the jews. Hans and Sophie were brave people who stood up against the Nazi-tyrrany, and the actors in those roles did a very good job. 9/10

Die Weiße Rose is a sad, touching film. I imagine that it was popular in Europe, but it seems that nearly nobody here has seen it--a shame, really, because it is so good. Yes, there was a resistance in Germany. The movie focuses on the story of two young people involved in said resistance, an attempted feat that makes them seem like heroes to almost everybody on the planet.

But it isn't just the story that's good. That wouldn't be enough, really, since there are lots of movies which take exciting ideas and screw them up horribly. Die Weiße Rose is very well filmed, very subtle and exciting, and very sad.

"The White Rose" identifies the international effects of post-WWI. Germany sought purity within their culture to counter suffrage imposed by conquering nations. 'The Hun' was hog tied to keep the world safe while WWII developed. In this atmosphere, Nazism flourished with the rise of a gifted communicator, Der Fuehrer--The Leader. In the form of ethnocentrism white roses blossomed. "The White Rose" was a world tragedy not just a nationalistic movement. However, within the hell of Nazi Germany a few youngsters and their academia professors attempted to communicate the reality of hell on earth, and they failed. I have this movie in Beta video format and await a DVD replacement. I was introduced to this film while I was stationed in West Germany in 1982 when it won numerous European awards. It's a classic international film worth owning. I write this review on November 9, 2008 in remembrance of Kristalnacht, November 8, 1938 or The Night of Broken Glass.

What I like most about this film is its sobriety, dispassion and sophistication in tackling the topic. There's no idealisation of the resistance group. It is based on precisely researched historical facts which successfully moves over clichés and false glorifications. Director Michael Verhoeven makes clear, that Sophie and Hans Scholl were neither longing for death nor wanted to set a beacon by giving themselves in custody. As incredibly brave and encouraged they were, they wanted to live most of all. The film also prompts questions of resistance fighters in a terror regime: Is there a right to resist against the majority of people? Is violence justified? Is it allowed to carry on sabotage which threatens the population? Is it allowed to wish a defeat for the own country? Is it worth anything to risk one's own life?