I have been trying to rent "Downfall" at Blockbuster for three weeks now. They finally had it in, so I saw it last night.
Best movie I have seen this year. By far.
It is a docudrama of the last 10 days of Hitler's life in the Bunker in Berlin as the Russian army closed in. It is in German with subtitles by a German actor namen Bruno Ganz, and he really pegged the man. Eva Braun, Hitler, Goebbels and his wife, all came off as real human beings. It's just that they are true beleivers in National Socialism.
Production values were very good, writing was excellent, and the acting was superb. I have read the history of that period, and if they missed anything, I didn't notice it, except perhaps that there was no record of the speed othger medications his doctor had him on. That may have been for dramitic effect, since knowing he was very possibly reacting to speed might have detracted from his appearance of humanity when he flew into his rages.
The movie won't tell you why WW II was fought, but it will give you a really good idea why the German army fought a war that had been effectively lost two years earlier. It also humanizes Hitler.
It takes none of the evil from what Hitler did or who he was. It just makes it a lot more clear how he functioned and how a human being could do the things he did.
It is worth watching. Just plan on taking time. It is 155 minutes long. Normally I don't have the patience for a subtitled movie that long, but this one is almost too short.
Go see it.
No comments:
Post a Comment