Downfall: A Film Review

"Es ist aus. Der Krieg ist verloren..."

The greatest movies are those that capture, torture and then motivate your mind. Out of well documented tragedies of the past century, two places always evoke my imagination: Petrograd of 1917 and Berlin of 1945; both marked an inhuman end of each empire and both meant a complete termination of previous way of living.

'Downfall' kept my breath stopped to the end entirely having me absorbed into this deadly oasis among human ruins. The film is based on 'Inside Hitler's Bunker: The Last Days of the Third Reich' by German historian Joachim Fest and 'Until the Last Hour' by Traudl Junge, Hiter's personal typist. What makes this film a masterpiece is a well-balanced measure of excellent acting and historic authenticity that reaches here the voyeuristic level: each little scene makes up a grandiose landscape of characters. All speech in German, with English subtitles but it only enhances the atmosphere.

Like in a genuine Greek tragedy, you realize that each of these men and women was mentally trapped and could not act any other way than they did. Therein Bruno Ganz (Adolf Hitler) plays well, albeit not without a little grotesque, which Hitler himself, like any huge public figure, unconsciously cast upon himself. As well portrayed are Albert Speer und Magda Goebbels. Eva Braun has somewhat decadent imprint on her personality (did the Bunker abet that trait?). You watch a highly deluded man's sudden acceptance of harsh reality when it's "too late". The grim verdict - "Es ist aus: der Krieg ist verloren" ("That's it: the war is lost") - needed nevertheless to be heard by his well-informed staff from their Führer, for it meant the end, the complete, total, ultimate end.

I must add I've never seen as many suicides in a movie as in 'Downfall': from an unknown fighter to the highest Nazi ranks, including Hitler (his suicide is shown, as it has to be, with the doors closed). In the scene where the Führer was saying farewell to his close circle, preparing to leave this world, he took his Nazi membership badge off his lapel and put in on Magda Goebbels - for being the examplary German mother. Therewith the deadliest venom of the Führer's callousness was passed over to her. How symbolic. Then comes the scene of killing of Goebbels' children by their mother's stern hand, which is an uneasy experience.

A minor note. Junge, the typist, is at shocking gaze when she hears Hitler speaking of Jews with his typical aversion. You cannot believe her character at this moment: she's a proffesional secretary brought up in Nazi Germany, socializing within the highest Nazi milieu, for whom hatred for Jews was in blood; you don't expect her to be that naive. Quite amazing is the fact that the real Junge, by now old woman, appears in person at the beginning and end of the film!! In the end of the film you are given a brief story of each character after the war; quite impressing to find out that some of the figures in the movie just recently died or even still are alive!

Personally I found a bit distracting the fact that filming was done on streets of St. Petersburg, a city dear to me, inasmuch as the modern Berlin offers very little of its imperial past (besides, as the director admits in the comments, there's no way one can "rent" streets in Berlin for a week to shoot a movie). The Moika's railings are merely more elegant that those of the Spree embankments. But, of course, that is not of importance for other viewers, - the surrounding settings really cannot be any more perfect. And what an unexpected parallel between Petrograd and Berlin!

Highly recommended.