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"The war is lost... But if you think that I'll leave Berlin for that, you are sadly mistaken. I'd prefer to put a bullet in my head."
It has been about half an hour since I finished watching Downfall and the effect of the movie is not remotely close to wearing off. The film is emotional, heart-wrenching, brilliant and engrossing! I don't think words can do proper justice to describing this amazing production.
Downfall follows the last days of Adolf Hitler (Ganz) who retreated underground into his bunker. The story is told through the eyes of Hitler's personal secretary (Lara). In April of 1945 the Russian forces were closing in on Berlin, and each day brings them even closer. As the Russians tighten their grip on the Nazis and continue their invasion, Hitler and his closest men retreat into a secret bunker. As he is urged by people around him to leave, Hitler refuses and instead spends his final days forming illusions and slowly going insane with power.
Hitler also descends into a deep depression, but still remains confident on the outside that his army will remain triumphant.
Downfall is the only movie that portrays Hitler as a human being, not a murderer and an animal. Now, look, the man was disgusting for his beliefs, but the filmmakers never want us to empathise with him. Instead we're shown a powerful string of events that could make a man made of steel cry like a baby.
Bruno Ganz...was brilliant. I don't think there's a single word strong enough to express the brilliance of his performance. His screen presence is utterly terrifying, and yet he can play him more humanely when the scene calls for it. As he goes insane, we feel it. Not many actors can achieve this emotional effect on an audience.
The whole movie is an exercise in patience; the experience is painfully long, yes, but compelling viewing for each minute that the film runs for. The end does seem rather dragged out, but the filmmakers tell the story undisputedly perfectly. Each performance is great, each scene has a purpose.
Downfall was beautifully made; set design, locations, cinematography...were all sublime. The music perfectly set the tone as well. It was a bold move on the part of the filmmakers to attempt such a project and show the audience a different perspective.
This alteration to your usual war movie is brilliant, engaging and just plain magnificent. The whole movie has been shot in grainy colour, with quality that makes it look like dated documentary footage. Especially the use of shaky cam that was not distracting, but rather placed us in the events happening on screen. And because there aren't many famous actors appearing in the film, we're never distracted and the whole film feels like authentic footage. All the characters come across as chillingly believable.
Beware the powerful themes of suicide, and even the murder of children that will have you in tears. It's no wonder that the film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language movie of 2004. Highly recommended. Known in Germany as Der Untergang.
9/10
