Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Every now and then, a film comes along that is so gripping and thought provoking that it pulls you right in and makes you forget reality, for just a time, seemingly transporting you to its own time and place. Such a film is the 2004 German effort Downfall (titled Der Untergang in its native language. As I watched the film on a thunderous Saturday afternoon, I was immediately drawn into the action of this historically accurate portrayal of the last days of the Third Reich.

To be sure, Downfall is disturbing. The callous disregard for human life practiced by Hitler and his henchman is only too apparent, and there is death scattered throughout the film. Violent death, though thankfully in many scenes the camera turns away at its arrival, often by the very hand of the recipient. For many, suicide was the only escape from the impending untergang..

Downfall is not just about the fall of the Hitler regime and the Third Reich, however. It’s also about the impact that that fall had on the German people, too, here mostly those in Berlin when the end came. We see Berlin under siege by the Red Army, as its citizens are caught between the unruly Russian forces and the last dedicated Nazis who are as likely to execute them as the Soviets are. Frustrated by their inability to stop the Russians, some of the Nazi faithful lash out against what they perceive as “collaborators” and “defeatists”.

Downfall is mainly told through the eyes of Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara), Hitler’s personal secretary. The film begins with excerpts from the real Traudl, interviewed recently about her experiences. Her comments provide an interesting and essential opening and punctuation to the true understanding of the power and hypnotism that Hitler held over an entire nation.

Opening with an exposition on how Traudl came by her job, the film quickly jumps into the Berlin of May, 1945, as the end approaches. And as the situation progressively worsens and the end becomes imminent, the power Hitler held over his inner circle becomes even more evident. Conjuring up phantom divisions or the imminent arrival of new super-weapons, the Fuhrer refuses to believe defeat is inevitable-and many of those around him seem equally convinced in his delusions.

Mostly, Traudl is just along for the ride. But she witnessed many important events during the last days, and is the glue that holds together a tale that goes in many directions simultaneously. Despite the film’s two and a half hour length, it only touches the surface of the Nazis crimes and the end of the war. But what it does address is the madness of Adolph Hitler.

Of course, Hitler was not alone in that regard. Perhaps the most disturbing scene in the film is the murder of her children by Josef Goebbels wife, Magda, who preferred that they die than be captured by the Red Army. As she methodically inserts a cyanide capsule into their sleeping mouths and forces them to bite down, the viewer can only watch in silent and astonished horror. Few scenes in the history of film are as alarming as this.

To be sure, Downfall is not a war film in the sense of “Saving Private Ryan”. Battle scenes are few and far between, included only to give the sense of the futility of resistance and the inevitability of impending doom.

The success of Downfall in many respects is a result of the efforts of actor Bruno Ganz, who portrays Hitler in the film. His performance is nothing short of amazing, capturing perfectly not just Hitler the raving lunatic but also the “human” side of Hitler that many who were close to him, like Junge, say was an integral part of his charisma.

Ganz is almost too good at what he does, and at times it’s hard to believe we’re watching a film and not an actual newsreel of Der Fuhrer. Whether he is graciously complimenting the cook on the quality of his final meal, coldly and callously explaining how his own people have “failed” their test and deserve annihilation, or screaming incomprehensibly at the top of his longs over his latest “betrayal”, Ganz is the indisputable center of Downfall.

Equally impressive is the supporting cast chosen to portray Heinrich Himmler (Ulrich Noethen), Josef Goebbels (Ulrich Matthes), and Albert Speer (Heino Ferch). These are the three we see the most of (Matthes especially), and each was certainly chosen with a resemblances of their respective characters in mind.

Himmler is portrayed as something on an opportunist and snake, Goebbels as a pathetic character who blindly accepted and mindlessly parroted every word that Hitler uttered. Speer, perhaps the sanest of the lot who in reality ignored many of Hitler’s orders and delayed the implementation of others to save civilian lives, is given a favorable treatment here.

And of course there is Maria Lara as Traudl Junge. This is a difficult role for her to capture, because she can’t excel as a follower. All that she can do is cry and look confused or enraptured by Hitler’s magnetic personality. And this she does, though such a performance understandably does not provide the opportunity for much in the way of kudos.

The DVD version includes several language and subtitle options. I chose to watch the film in its original German, both to brush up on my own grasp of the language and because I think the film works much better that way.

Downfall is a film that must be seen by any seeking an understanding of the Second World War, Adolph Hitler, and Nazi Germany. The film’s importance goes far beyond that, however. It’s also an essay on the willingness of human beings to commit evil in the name of a higher power, something all too ingrained in human nature and not confined to Nazi Germany.

Other German cinema of note:

Das Boot

Stalingrad

Goodbye, Lenin

Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older