Oliver Hirschbiegel

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The riveting subject of Downfall is nothing less than the disintegration of Adolf Hitler in mind, body, and soul. A 2005 Academy Award nominee for best foreign language film, this German historical drama stars Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire) as Hitler, whose psychic meltdown is depicted in sobering detail, suggesting a fallen, pathetic dictator on the verge on insanity, resorting to suicide (along with Eva Braun and Joseph and Magda Goebbels) as his Nazi empire burns amidst chaos in show more mid-1945. While staging most of the film in the claustrophobic bunker where Hitler spent his final days, director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment) dares to show the gentler human side of der Fuehrer, as opposed to the pure embodiment of evil so familiar from many other Nazi-era dramas. This balanced portrayal does not inspire sympathy, however: We simply see the complexity of Hitler's character in the greater context of his inevitable downfall, and a more realistic (and therefore more horrifying) biographical portrait of madness on both epic and intimate scales. By ending with a chilling clip from the 2002 documentary Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary, this unforgettable film gains another dimension of sobering authenticity. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
The great Swiss-German actor Bruno Ganz gives a staggering performance as Adolf Hitler in this full-scale realist German production detailing the last ten days of the Third Reich. As the Red Army rampages through Berlin, Hitler and his staff have retreated to the bunker under the Reich Chancellery. They are all here-Himmler, Goebbels, Speer, the entire fascinating, loathsome crew of commanders, mad visionaries, and toadies (all brilliantly acted)-and, leading them still, a man so physically ill and constricted in movement that he looks like a broken-down puppet from a Bavarian travelling circus. The puppet comes to life, of course, in appalling self-pitying rants that are borderline funny. The entire movie teeters on the edge of sick comedy-in particular such scenes as the death of the Goebbels children, one by one, at the hands of their mother-and at times one longs for a coldly malicious ironist like Brecht or Fassbinder to come in and take over. The attempt to re-create Hitler in realistic terms has always been morally and imaginatively questionable-a compromise with the unspeakable that borders on complicity with it. Produced and written by Bernd Eichinger; directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. In German. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker show less

Hitler's last days, from the perspective of his secretary.

Highly-recommended. Ganz' Hitler is one of the most memorable performances you'll ever see. It's hard to put my finger on why I don't feel it deserves an A, but I think it has something to do with the cast being unreasonably ginormous. (If you're not a history buff, you probably won't know who half these people are or why we're supposed to care about them.)

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special show more effects/design: A
Acting: A
Music: C

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 3.3/4 show less

Superb rendition of the last days in the bunker. Non-judgemental, thoughtful and gives the story room to breathe. Some superb acting. Repays close attention, this is not a conventional 'war film'.

The film, Downfall, is about the last 12 days of Hitler in the bunker in Berlin as seen through the eyes of Traudl Junge, his personal secretary for the last 2 1/2 years of the war. Hitler's top aides, loyal supporters, and those who tried to convince Hitler of the need to surrender to save what was physically left of Germany so that the nation could recover after the war. The acting is well done and portrayals realistic with Bruno Ganz winning a Best Actor award for his portrayal of Hitler. show more Since the war scenes of street fighting in Berlin are bloody and gritty it is more appropriate for older high school students. The interviews with the director, crew and actors gives more insight into why the film was made and how and why the actors portrayed their characters as they did.
Traudl (Humps) Junge was 22 when she became Hitler's secretary, and wrote her memoirs shortly after the war at the suggestion of a friend. She collaborated with Melissa Muller for the book, Hitler's Last Secretary: A Firsthand Account of Life with Hitler, which is the basis for the movie. After the war she was classified as a "young follower" and had various jobs as a secretary. There is an interview in the Extras where Traudl says that she hadn't thought too much about her past until she passed a plaque for Sophie and Hans Scholl and realized that being young wasn't an excuse, she could have found out what was going on if she had really wanted to do so. She died in Munich in 2002.
Mature students who have been well prepared could benefit from seeing and discussing the film and its Extra's editorial contents. show less