Downfall
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Starring: Alexandra Maria Lara, Bruno Ganz, Corinna Harfouch, Heino Ferch, Juliane Kohler, Ulrich Matthes
Details: Ger/ 155 mins/ (12A)
While it's inevitable that any film that takes a closer look at Hitler attracts criticism for 'humanising' the Nazi leader, Downfall is at pains to maintain enough distance from this monster to escape accusations of sensationalism. Played out as a dramatic re-construction, the film skilfully develops an air of claustrophobia and tension as the Germans realise defeat is the only logical outcome. Aside from Ganz's devastating performance (veering between charisma and lunacy without ever descending into parody), the film's at its best when articulating the feeling of dread as experienced by Hitler's closest confidantes. Despite the tendency to unwisely revise the motivations of some - chiefly Junge, Professor Ernst-Gunther Schenck (Christian Berkel) and to a lesser extent, Albert Speer (Heino Ferch) - Downfall is a finely tuned slice of historical drama.
Review by Garreth Murphy
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