Film Review: Downfall (Der Untergang)

Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel

Making a film that deals with the issue of Hitler and the Nazi's is always going to be a controversial. This film it appears upon release was no exception as some critics didn't agree with the humanizing of Hitler within the film and could aid the Nazi movement that still exists in small numbers. But this surely isn't the case in Downfall; Hitler is shown ranting at his officers for the countries failing's in the war and that the German people should not survive for being weak.

"In this war, there are no civilians"

They were the ranting's of a man who completely lost sense of reality when it became obvious that the war was lost and his reign or power/terror was over. Even when it was obvious they were beaten he still believed General Wenck and his army would attack the Russians to start the fight back. It was the desperate belief of a man clinging to power and is shown to be almost grotesque. I think some people objected because the film is in German making Bruno Ganz (actually Swiss) all the more believable as Hitler himself. There may be more spoilers than normal in the rest of the review if you haven't had chance to see this film yet.

Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler

The film starts by showing how Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara) is given the job as Hitler's secretary despite mistakes during dictation, from here the film fast forwards to Hitler's 56th birthday in April 1945 when everyone in Berlin is shocked to hear Soviet artillery nearby. It's at this point most of the officers within the Nazi party realise that the end of the war is quiet near and that it is only a matter of time before the Soviet's take Berlin. Hitler declares that he will never surrender Berlin and will go down with it if needs be.

For me the shocking elements to the film didn't involve Hitler himself but others around him. I still don't know whether to admire and denounce the loyalty shown by some people to Hitler and his ideologies. The Hitler Youth movement fighting with anti-tank missiles rather than flee the city with their families is a disturbing sight but nothing compares to the scene of Magda Goebbels poisoning her six children in their sleep which is a scene that will stay with me for a very long time.

Traudl Junge speaks before and after the film about her experience of working for the Hitler and the Nazi's as she stayed in Berlin till near the very end. In reality after escaping she had to go back to Berlin and was eventually arrested by the Soviet's where she finally learnt what happened in the war in the east as before she only knew what the Nazi propaganda had told her. She speaks about being naive and not interested in politics but ignored her family and friends pleas not to work for them. Her sense of loyalty is for an entirely different reason to the officers around her.

Traudl Junge played by Alexandra Maria Lara

The only issue I had throughout the movie was trying to keep up with who all the Nazi Officers were as they came down to the bunker to see Hitler. This may have been down to me not knowing that much about the different people aside from 3 or 4 of the more well-known officers but it wasn't always easy to keep pace. It's a hard film to necessarily say that you like due to the content but there's no denying the conflicting emotions brought up by the actions of different people within the film. But it is still a very good film in trying to chronicle what happened in those last few fateful days of the Reich which, until now, many wouldn't have known about.

3/4 Ganz is truly unsettling as Hitler; it provides a grim realistic view of the end of the Nazi's.