DOWNFALL (DER UNTERGANG)
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2005 David N. Butterworth
*** (out of ****)
Adolf Hitler's final days in his Berlin bunker are dramatized in
the new German film "Downfall" ("Der Untergang") by Oliver
Hirschbiegel, director of "The Experiment." Bruno Ganz, that fine
veteran actor of such foreign-language classics as "The American
Friend," "Circle of Deceit," and "Wings of Desire," is at the forefront
of this long (but never boring) WWII account of how the Great Dictator
spent his waning days holed up with his majors and generals,
strategizing with the likes of Goebbels and Himmler and, in matters
more intimate, Eva Braun. The film offers a more human side to the man
invariably portrayed as a monster (not without good reason of course)
as the bombs drop and the Russians close in. Ganz is amazing, never
once reducing Hitler to mere caricature, showing us his weaknesses, his
determination, in the face of inevitable defeat, with his rants and
ravings positioned more as a product of the hopelessness of the
situation rather than a particular character flaw. A scene early in the
film best exemplifies the film's focus, its attention to detail: a line-
up of fresh young German girls, interviewing for the position of
Hitler's stenographer, fidget nervously, clucking like kept chickens as
they await their moment to impress their future employer, cautiously
peering into der Fuhrer's chambers when the door is left slightly ajar,
hoping for a peek at the man they've heard so much about, as if he were
a celebrity. "Downfall" has the look, the feel, and the importance
of "The Pianist" and "Schindler's List" with the added fascination of
presenting a portrait of a cruel and merciless despot who had clearly
run out of options.
--
David N. Butterworth
dnb@dca.net
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online at http://members.dca.net/dnb
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