A Review by Phil Calabro
***HIGHLY RECOMMENDED***
2005, Newmarket Films/Constantin Film, Dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel - Starring Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Matthias Habich, Thomas Kretschmann, Michael Mendl, André Hennicke
It was Billy Wilder who once said that no director should ever make a movie about Hitler or Jesus. And after 40 years, we have finally refuted his plea - the world has produced two completely respectful and honest portrayals of each figures' life. Mel Gibson gave us a highly stylized yet enlightening vision of Christ's passion, and Oliver Hirschbiegel has given us a non-sympathetic and incredible portrait of Der Fuhrer. I felt an intensity like none other during 'Downfall', an achievement among no other - our director took a group of legendary ruthless criminals and put a human face upon them. These are no longer the iconic figureheads of tragic era, they are pawns in a game set for their own destruction. Realism is always hard to conquer in historical movies, but Hirschbiegel along with the brilliant casting of Bruno Ganz as Hitler, the job is flawless. I have no qualms in saying that 'Downfall' will make my top 10 list of 2005, unless ten other movies ultimately quash it in the running.
It is April 1945, and we open the film to complete chaos in Berlin's government district. Several feet underground is the Fuhrer's secret bunker where he and his fellow leaders plan their next attacks, aerial and ground. But then the time has come where Hitler (Ganz) finally recognizes that his Third Reich will fail, yet subconciously he has not lost hope. Hitler has grown weary of the Nazi casualities and the constant failures of his generals, that these bunker days are nothing but a whirlwind of total insanity. The audience given a one-point perspective from Traudl Junge (Lara), a stenographer for the dictator whose accurate accounts of these days were a primary basis for the screenplay. We also see from the perspective of Prof. Dr. Ernst-Günter Schenck (Berkel), a physician who also realizes the impending finale for the Nazis and tries to convince his higher authorities to leave Berlin as soon as possible. The final product is a set of intertwining storylines all connected by one large underground tunnel of high tension.
I am sorry to say that I have never seen a movie with Bruno Ganz before, but I am making room to watch some of his former films after this bravador performance as Adolf Hitler. The leader is so notoriously depicted by media, young and old, but no portrayal could be as human as this. Hirschbiegel's direction allows the horrible leader not be given any sympathy, but highlight the dire straits that he will endure just to see his insane dream of terror come alive. Hitler has been empowered not by the people, but by his own ideas that he is loved and worshipped as a deity, and that he is the highest being in the entire country. The madness that plagues his mind is personified by Ganz's quiet and patient tones as well as his rage-infused tirades about his colleagues 'betraying' and 'committing treason' upon him. Hitler comes to realize that the only true enemy in his war is himself.
Another character that I'd draw attention to is that of Joseph Goebbels, played with striking resemblance by Ulrich Matthes. The bony-faced yet stern demeanor sends the message of total faith in his leader. But his trust in Hitler has its own downfall - he is so driven by the government he has promoted for twelve years that he can not escape its grasp. When the Fuhrer sends him away from Berlin as an order, Goebbels is in complete denial of the situation - he refuses to leave his 'master' seeing as that he has no other place to turn to. Once the suicide of Hitler and Eva Braun occurs, he finally (and not in an obvious manner) completely breaks down. A world without Der Fuhrer is a hopeless one - due to this, he sends his equal faithful wife to poison each of his six children in their sleep, as well as shoot his wife and himself in the head. Watching Mrs. Goebbels kill each of her children just because of her faith in a murderer is one of the most gripping scenes I have ever watched.
The director really uses the small sets to his greatest advantage. The bunker is so enclosed, almost claustrophobic in a sense. In the last forty-five minutes of the film, the hope for victory dies off into absolutely nothing, and so does the hope to live. As each of the ranking members kill themselves, this 'cabin-fever'-esque pattern continues to occur. The violent flood of insanity and worship mixes into one tiny tunnel under the ruins of Berlin. It is a sight of desperation, loss, and failure. This state of mind can't be personified by any one person, but through his murderous act, it is done justice by Hirschbiegel.
'Downfall' is incredible, riveting, and one of the best war films created. That may seem like an exaggeration to many, but it is one film worth watching more than once. It is compelling to the viewer by its subject, but sucks them in deeper once it starts rolling. It just goes to show, we really proved Mr. Wilder wrong here.
