# Der Untergang - The Downfall (movie)



## Pieman (1 Apr 2005)

I was lucky and got tickets to the premier of 'The Downfall' tonight. It is a German film about the last few days of WWII inside Hitler's bunker in Berlin. The story is a combination of two books written by people who were there.

On my ticket it says: 'The best war movie ever made'

I would not go that far. But it is very high on the list. 

The events that took place in the bunker almost defied logic. Hitler seemed to have no conception of reality and could not let go of the fact it was over. Even though everyone realized they were doomed, many of them stayed until the end. Bizzare to watch this behaviour. In the end, I left the theater with a mix of different feelings and deep thoughts, something most movies fail to do these days. This one really has an impact, and that is why critics are praising it. It is also why a German film made it all the way to theaters in Canada.

This movie should be opening up in theaters across Canada in the more artistic movie houses. It is probably not in the main stream movie theaters at all. I highly reccommend tracking the movie down and to go see it. You could wait till it is out on video, but nothing beats a real movie theater in my opinion.

I want to go into more detail, but am still digesting the information. I think this is one of those movies you have to go see more than once to fully appreciate it. I have attached a review of the movie here, that sums it up better than I ever could:

http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/movies/d/downfall.html


> Downfall is just shy of a masterpiece; a film of such unflinching power and honesty that at first, I didn't quite know what to do with it. It's a film wholly lacking an axe-grinding agenda; moved only by the desire to establish a tone and relay the facts. It would be silly to debate whether or not this film â Å“humanizesâ ? Hitler, or even â Å“takes a standâ ? on the Holocaust, as if sane people needed to debate these issues further. No one not motivated by unreasonable hatred would attempt to defend either Hitler or the murder of millions, and this film has moved beyond trying to convince anyone that's it worth continuing the discussion. Sound, reliable history has long ruled on National Socialism, and any piece of art still wading through the morality of it all deserves to be left behind and discarded as valueless. Simply put, the Third Reich, as defined and ruled by Adolf Hitler, was the most repugnant, coldhearted killing machine of the 20th century, and while needing to be understood, holds firm as the personification of true horror. Now that we dispensed with the obvious, we can proceed with Oliver Hirschbiegel's stunning account of those final days beneath the crumbling German capital.
> 
> Outside of a brief prologue where we meet Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara), Hitler's final secretary (who's story, one could say, this is), we rarely glimpse life beyond Hitler's bunker, except of course to establish the onslaught of the Red Army and the utter destruction of Berlin. It is appropriate that this film not attempt to tell the whole story (whatever that might be), for at that point, it would be succumbing to convention, and below ground is where we belong. The sounds of death help create the tension, for as the guns and shouts become more intense, we know that full surrender is nearly at hand. To contrast the madness, the remaining members of the Nazi government live out their final hours in obscene denial; laughing, singing, and dancing with all the spirit of having occupied Moscow. Alcohol and excitement flow with the revelry of a New Year's bash, which is the best possible way to convey the diseased nature of the Nazi mind.
> 
> ...


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## larry Strong (25 Apr 2005)

I am waiting with baited breath for a North American version of the CD to come out.


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## winchable (26 Apr 2005)

Opened in the Oxford recently (today?) I will be seeing it, I read a review of it in the paper.

I caught a documentary made about Hitlers personal secretary where they did interviews with her, I think some of the film is based on that.

Will post my thoughts when I go to see it.


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## chrisp1j (28 Apr 2005)

I saw this last week, and it was very well done. In fact, id say that I was blown away.  It moved my girlfriend to tears (it wasn't exactly a romantic comedy), but she enjoyed it. 

I'm trying to find a place that sells it. If anyone knows one, let me know.


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## Michael Dorosh (28 Apr 2005)

It was revolting to see the lack of context in the movie, but it didn't stop me from enjoying it.  Context would be hard to provide.

Mohnke, the brave, iron jawed officer in charge of Berlin's defence in the movie, comes off as a good looking guy in a sharp uniform, and that's it.

In real life, Mohnke was a drooling maniac even by SS standards, who murdered British POWs in 1940, and in June 1944 was responsible for the murder of unarmed Canadian prisoners of war.  There is no hint at that in the movie because of course the film is not about that.  But still sad to see such criminals necessarily portrayed in such a good light.

Fegelein is portrayed by the brilliant Thomas Kretschmann (Lt. von Witzland in STALINGRAD).  In reality, his Florian Geyer Division was responsible for disgusting excesses in Russia, but in the film Fegelein is seen as a loving brother-in-law of Eva Braun and little else.  Even Himmler comes off as sympathetic.

It is good to paint the Nazi villains as humans to remind us that pure evil doesn't exist, but still hard to stomach for those in the know about some of the supporting characters.  We don't need to see Hitler stepping over 6 million Jews to realize how much he deserved his fate, but without a few dozen murdered Canadians, most audiences would have no clue how much Mohnke deserved his.


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