Downfall
A search on imdb reveals well over one hundred films have been made about Adolf Hitler; most coming out of the USA, and with a few honourable exceptions all mainly forgettable.
That 'Downfall' was made in Germany is perhaps the primary reason why most people will see it. After all, sixty years after the death of Hitler, one surmises, will provide an opportunity for Germans to put this man and their country’s Nazi past in perspective.
The film details the last few days in Hitler’s famous Berlin bunker as based on the memoirs of his personal secretary Traudl Junge, whose voice opens the movie and whose image closes it.
What we see is a sick, deluded and embittered Hitler surrounded by sycophants and fearsome fanatics, desperately planning strategies to combat an advancing Russian army, who are but a few kilometres from Berlin itself.
The film looks and sounds authentic both in the bunker itself and in the streets of Berlin. But all that comes to nothing if the script and performances do not have the necessary veracity. Fortunately this is the greatest strength of the film, indeed at times one has to remind oneself that one is watching actors, such is the cast’s conviction. This is especially so with the performance of Bruno Ganz, whose portrayal of Hitler is so compelling in his ability to capture not only the intrinsic evil of the man but also his ordinariness. This latter characteristic makes his portrayal all the more chilling.
Watching the movie one is never aware of its length: 156 mins. Such is its power one is gripped from beginning to end. It’s a powerful film and deserves success.
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