‘You must be on stage when the curtain falls…’
There are plenty of movies about World War II. Cinema is one way that we as a society attempt to make sense of senseless tragedy. Indeed, some of the best films ever made tackle this very subject. Despite the hundreds of movies based in this era however, not many of them attempt to tell this story from the German perspective. The reasons for this are complex and manifold, but when we do see this historical abomination through the eyes of the ‘other’, uncomfortable questions are both posed and answered. Downfall is perhaps the most effective film to ever attempt to tell the other side of this sad story…
As Berlin falls all around him, Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz) retreats into his underground bunker like some kind of mad king. With Eva Braun (Juliane Köhler) by his side, Hitler struggles to retain the loyalty of his generals as his insane and delusional orders become more and more unhinged. We partly witness this downfall through the eyes of Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara) – Hitler’s private secretary and loyal comrade.
Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and based on books by both Junge herself and Joachim Fest, Downfall is a harrowing account of an army, a country, in ruins. Hirschbiegel goes to great lengths to remind us that many of those caught up in Hitler’s demented final solution were normal people just trying to live their life. This never comes at the expense at demonstrating the evil inherent in those that remained devoted to Hitler. Men who were either deluded or shameless careerists.
Ganz is astonishing as the führer, capturing the Macbeth like spiral into obsession and lunacy that defined his final acts. That the film continues for nearly an hour after Hitler’s suicide is a testament to the scope of the story being told here. This is not a film about Hitler, or about Nazi Germany, but more about the evil acts that men commit and the consequences for those caught up in the fighting.
Elsewhere, Köhler is chillingly unhinged as Hitler’s wife and Junge brings a wide-eyed naivety vital in selling her character’s supposed innocence, but really this is an ensemble piece, the whole cast bring a gravitas and a profundity to a subject matter that must always be handled with care.
Downfall is probably the most well known attempt to scrutinise Hitler and his deranged beliefs. It’s also one of the greatest war films ever made. A masterpiece.