{Untergang, Der}
 --- Subtitled --- April 1945, a nation awaits its... Called "dramatic, accurate and harrowing" by the San Francisco Chronicle and nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, Downfall takes you into Hitler's during the brutal and harrowing last days of the Third Reich. Seen through the eyes of Hitler's infamous secretary Traudl Junge, optimism crumbles into grim realization and terror as it becomes clear that Germany's defeat is inevitable. As the Russian army circles the city, the dimly lit halls of the underground refuge become an execution chamber for the Fuhrer and his closest advisors. Storyline: In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Soviet Armies closing in from the west and south. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his Generals and advisers to fight to the last man. "Downfall" explores these final days of the Reich, where senior German leaders (such as Himmler and Goring) began defecting from their beloved Fuhrer, in an effort to save their own lives, while still others (Joseph Goebbels) pledge to die with Hitler. Hitler, himself, degenerates into a paranoid shell of a man, full of optimism one moment and suicidal depression the next. When the end finally does comes, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender. Written by Anthony Hughes {husnock31@hotmail.com} Cast Notes: Bruno Ganz (Adolf Hitler), Alexandra Maria Lara (Traudl Junge), Corinna Harfouch (Magda Goebbels), Ulrich Matthes (Joseph Goebbels), Juliane Köhler (Eva Braun), Heino Ferch (Albert Speer), Christian Berkel (Prof. Dr. Ernst-Günter Schenck), Matthias Habich (Prof. Dr. Werner Haase), Thomas Kretschmann (SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein), Michael Mendl (General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling), André Hennicke (SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke), Ulrich Noethen (Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler), Birgit Minichmayr (Gerda Christian), Rolf Kanies (General der Infanterie Hans Krebs), Justus von Dohnanyi (General der Infanterie Wilhelm Burgdorf). User Comment: *** This comment may contain spoilers *** Marcin Kukuczka from Cieszyn, Poland, 21 November 2004 • "Morgen Werden Mich Millionen Verfluchen Aber Das Schicksal Wollte Es Nicht Anders" (Adolf Hitler) ("Tomorrow, millions of people will condemn me but the fate wanted it so!") Before writing this review, I trembled. The feeling of terror and fear is very significant for me to admit since whenever I attempt at discussing such cruel topics as the one of war and its misery, I feel scared. It is impossible to do justice to people who created hell on earth. But it is possible to show them to new generation in an accurate way. Der Untergang is not a movie, as some people would probably expect, that shows the leaders of the Third Reich as real monsters. It is a psychological attempt at creating a slightly different image of Hitler and his closest "companions" than has been preferred by many so far. The "monsters" appear to have human feelings. They, however, have mostly dark rather than black souls. The whole movie is truthful to history since it is highly based on the notions of Hitler's secretary, Traudl Humps - Junge. To my surprise, she herself appears at the end of the movie, old, tired of her sad memories from the 1940s. Her words "One could look for the truth even if we did not know the scale of human tragedy" prove that she was not one of the blind Nazi propaganda followers but someone who believed that everyone is a child of God and it is not right to kill. The strange destiny of hers led her to Hitler somehow unconsciously. The thing that seemed the most significant for me is the effect that the movie has on a viewer. All of the scenes take place in Berlin bunker, in very small rooms where the leaders of the Third Reich are hiding. Hitler, though cruel, deadly furious, and far from consciousness (for long he still believes in victory), is also able to show human feelings, especially to women. Eva Braun, escaping from the cruel facts of her lover's (later husband's) downfall, wants to be cheerful and entertain. One of the most memorable scenes was the one where Eva wants to have a party and dance although Berlin is full of bombarding. This is a sort of escape from the reality, a feeling that every human has in despair. Others, including Magda Goebbels and her husband are sheer fanatics. I will never forget the moment when Mrs Goebbels kills her children, calm, not showing any feelings at all. With reference to Speer's words, she does not even hesitate to deprive her children of future. One of the few people who retained reason is Traudl and Prof. Ernst Guenter Schenck. The cast are really great. These are mostly German stars, some not very famous, but they perform wonderfully. Bruno Ganz portrays Hitler really well. From fury and devil's cruelty to politeness and calmness. However, never accepting compassion! A young, beautiful rising star, Alexandra Maria Lara, feels her role of Traudl. Sometimes, she feels empathy with Hitler, but in other moments she is shocked by his furious behavior. Corinna Harfouch as Magda Goebbels is great in this role. She seems to have calm nerves for most of the time, even while killing her children, but when Hitler plans to kill himself, she kneels down before him, panics begging him, in sheer mad fanaticism, not to leave his people. Great acting Finally, the most unforgettable performance, in my opinion, is Juliane Kohler's Eva Braun. I loved all the scenes she appeared in. For most of the time a viewer can distinguish two sorts of personalities in her: on the one hand, someone who wants to be happy and live a cheerful life, and, on the other hand, someone who does whatever the fuhrer says, no matter if it destroys her personal happiness. Consider the scene when she begs Hitler for the life of Hermann Fegelein (Thomas Kretschmann), her sister's husband, to spare. She feels compassion, says that her sister is pregnant... but when Hitler is not able to feel empathy, she wipes off the tears of her face and calmly says "You are the fuhrer!" I saw the film for the second time partly for the sake of Juliane and her performance. There is one more topic which I have to mention in this review, though long. Some people in Poland said that Oliver Hirschbiegel, the director of the movie, raised nationalism in Germany through this movie. Isn't it silly? It would mean that people would go to the cinema and the film would teach them nationalism or other sick and corrupted ideologies. The film clearly conveys one message "Hitler was evil, he killed many innocent people including millions of Jews, but he was not a devil. He was only a tool in his/her hands and a "god" for blind Nazi fanatics! What is more, there are always good and bad Germans like there are good and bad people in every nation on earth!" Even the title says clearly, it was the DOWNFALL of the Third Reich! If someone is a racist or Nazi, the film does not change anything. The corruption comes out of one's heart! THE DOWNFALL is a must to see. It is a film that will be surely regarded as one of the most ambitious films ever made. The content is very hard to present, but Mr Hirschbiegel together with Bernd Eichinger (by the way, he produced a wonderful movie in 1986 The Name of the Rose) managed to do it perfectly. I give this film 10/10 with no hesitation! Finally, I feel a need to share my thoughts with you that i had just after seeing the movie: Yes, there are millions who condemn you, Hitler! The gist, however, is not condemning, but rather learning from history and drawing right conclusions. In order not to allow for A HELL ON EARTH again! NEVER! Summary: One of the most historically accurate and psychological movies! German MASTERPIECE! User Comment: A. Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) , March 14, 2005 • DOWNFALL (DER UNTERGANG), recreates the last days of Adolph Hitler and his sycophants in the Führer's bunker below the Reich Chancellery as the noose drawn by vengeful Soviet armies gets ever tighter. The film actually opens in 1942 at Hitler's East Prussia command post as Adolph (Bruno Ganz) meets several young woman brought from Berlin to be interviewed for a job as his personal secretary. Young Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara) lands the plum assignment, and it's mostly from her perspective that the remainder of the story is told as the scene shifts to Berlin in April 1945. DOWNFALL is based on Joachim Fest's book, INSIDE HITLER'S BUNKER, and the volume BIS ZUR LETZTEN STUNDE by Traudl Junge and Melissa Müller. Indeed, the real Junge, by then an old woman, provides voiceovers both at the beginning and end of the film, and appears in person before the final credits. (The 2002 documentary, BLIND SPOT, is an extended interview with Traudl, in which she expresses "plausible deniability" for the atrocities perpetuated by her employer.) All of the major and minor players familiar to students of the period are represented: Joseph and Magda Goebbels and their offspring, Eva Braun, Speer, Fegelein, Weidling, Mohnke, Himmler, Krebs, Burgdorf, Keitel, Jodl, Günsche, Bormann, Göring, Hewel, Ritter von Greim, Reitsch, Stumpfegger, Kempa, Manziarly, Christian, Haase, Schenck, Linge, and Blondi (Hitler's German shepherd). DOWNFALL seems a faithful representation of all I've ever read about those last days in Hitler's hidey-hole. DOWNFALL has been coined a "German film for Germans", perhaps thinking that the despicability of the Nazi hierarchy will somehow be toned down for a home audience. True, the film's creators show heroism and selflessness where they can find it: the dogged and brave defense of Berlin's city center by Generals Mohnke (André Hennicke) and Weidling (Michael Mendl), the concern for the civilian population and wounded by Doctors Schenck (Christian Berkel) and Haase (Mathias Habich), and even the bravery of Speer (Heino Ferch) in disobeying Hitler's orders to reduce Germany's infrastructure to scorched earth. But DOWNFALL also depicts Der Führer's antipathy for the Jews and his volcanic, recriminatory outbursts against his generals and the German people for their ostensible treachery and cowardice, the self-serving conniving of Himmler (Ulrich Noethen), the actions of the assassination squads above ground seeking out perceived malingerers and deserters, the to-the-death fanaticism of defenders no more than children, and the blind and irrational loyalty of Joseph (Ulrich Matthes) and Magda (Corinna Harfouch) Goebbels to Hitler. Indeed, perhaps the hardest sequence to watch is that of Magda killing her own children - Helga, Hilde, Helmut, Hedda, Holde - with cyanide capsules after first drugging them with a sleeping potion. She'd decided that they didn't deserve to live in a world devoid of National Socialism. At one point, the oldest girl, Helga, sensing something is amiss with her mother's intentions, resists taking the soporific, but is forced to submit by Magda and Dr. Stumpfegger (Thorsten Krohn). The Goebbels children, along with Hitler's dog Blondi, who was poisoned by his master to test the effects of the cyanide capsules provided by Himmler, are the only innocents here, and the viewer's heart may well bleed for them. The performance by Bruno Ganz was of Oscar caliber. He was certainly more deserving of a nomination than a couple of the actors so honored at the recent Academy Awards ceremony. However, can you imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth by the Politically Correct had Bruno's ADOLPH HITLER been acclaimed for the brilliant rendition it is? For those who'd criticize DOWNFALL as humanizing Hitler and his cronies, I have a breaking news flash. Hello!?! These men and women were defective, but still Homo sapiens all. Those who'd put these deviants beyond the pale of the species are just as deluded as those who'd deny that the Holocaust ever took place, and they may just as well put their heads back under the sand. It's a tired adage, but, forget history and you'll repeat it. My only complaint was that many of the characters, unless introduced to the audience by having their names verbalized in the dialogue, are left too long unidentified. There should have been visual captions at the first appearance of each. Himmler, Goebbels, and perhaps Speer, are immediately recognizable, but it took too long into the run time to identify such as Bormann, Günsche, Weidling, Krebs, Burgdorf, Keitel, and Jodl. DOWNFALL is a must-see film for anybody interested in the death throes of Hitler's Reich. It was nominated for an Academy Award as the Best Foreign Language Film of 2004. It lost out to THE SEA INSIDE, a lesser movie. The fact that the latter was itself exceptional should be an indication of how superb a production DOWNFALL is. Summary: So few true innocents. IMDb Rating (07/24/14): 8.3/10 from 192,917 users Top 250: #115 IMDb Rating (10/15/07): 8.4/10 from 41,212 users Top 250: #59 IMDb Rating (12/14/05): 8.5/10 from 16,610 users Top 250: #51
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