Film Review

Downfall
Distributor: Roadshow, 2005
Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
Starring Bruno Ganz
 

Review by Jenni van Wageningen

Many documentaries have covered the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler, so that the facts behind this movie, as well as its cast of main players are chillingly familiar. Yet this does not detract from what is one of the year’s most riveting productions. Its detailed focus on Hitler’s last days and the inevitable disintegration of the Third Reich make compelling viewing.

The movie is based on a documentary about Hitler’s real life secretary who naively appreciated him as a person, and we see him mainly through her eyes. She experienced small kindnesses and observed Hitler’s benign and fatherly interest in the Goebbels children. Traudl Junge stayed in his service to the very end, escaping only by the skin of her teeth as the Russians poured into Berlin

Confined to an elaborate underground bunker and surrounded by supporters, Hitler is physically, mentally and emotionally burnt out. In his most desperate moments he realises that his cause his lost, yet for most of the time he is in a state of denial and delusion.

Bruno Ganz’s performance as Hitler is quite extraordinary. It goes beyond the cliché of the trademark moustache and the strands of hair across the forehead. Even though Ganz does not really resemble Hitler he weaves such charisma around the character that we are not surprised that many of his followers remained loyal and dazzled to the bitter end.

All the other players are perfectly cast and distinctive in their roles. Propaganda minister Goebbels and his wife Magda are a chilling couple in their fanatical determination to die with the Third Reich, even if it means killing their own children. Eva Braun is a superficial pleasure-loving party girl who fires up the hysterical and bizarre behaviour inside the bunker. Many of the scenes in this movie are unforgettable.

There are parallel stories of others caught up in the desperate confusion of the times. Peter belongs to the Hitler Youth and spends his days wielding a bazooka as a street fighter; and the dedicated Professor Schenck risks his life to help those who have been appallingly wounded.

Our final impression of Hitler is not that of a complete monster. This portrayal of the humanity of the most inhumane leader the world has ever known is a gripping and intriguing psychological study. Yet some will find it disturbing that a man regarded as the embodiment of evil is depicted with positive characteristics. This has led to strong negative criticism from German critics in particular. Paradoxically, what is even more unsettling is the sheer ordinariness and of the man portrayed in the movie. How can we understand how he deluded so many into seeing him as a hero and believing that his cause was noble? If he succeeded in hoodwinking a whole nation, the same could happen anywhere else at any time. And in fact it has. Cambodia’s Pol Pot is a recent example.

Satan too can appear as an angel of light.

The real evil in the man is still very apparent in his words and actions. In spite of his much-proclaimed love of the Fatherland, Hitler is prepared to allow his own people to suffer and be swept aside. He says that they have proved to be too weak and as a result deserve their fate. He also congratulates himself on his solution to the Jewish problem.

In spite of the subject matter, I did not find this movie depressing or disturbing. I would describe it rather as a sobering and thought-provoking interpretation of the darkest moments of recent history. I know people who have discussed it for days afterwards.

But I am also reminded of my father in law who after the war could never stand the sight of black boots. Those who have experienced the Nazi regime first hand may not find my recommendation appealing.
 

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