Downfall

The first war film dealing with the conflict from the other side, and also directed by “natives”. There is a certain interest in the material, but it doesn't have any significant impact on the viewer. The script is simple and the actors (although very decent) practically have nothing to rely on. Bruno Ganz stands out, but mainly because seeing Hitler himself on the screen is already a peculiar and unique experience. But Oliver Hirschbiegel didn't excel in terms of visual presentation. The cold visual style doesn't stand out as it should, and the war scenes are quite implausible and poorly edited. (24/09/2005)

I have never experienced such a quiet audience during the closing credits in a multiplex. Downfall is a modest masterpiece, powerful mainly due to the content that it reconstructs and by the gravity of the events that it depicts. In terms of imagery, it is a theatrically austere interior affair relying on the most realistic possible design of the sets and on the performances of the actors, who are exceptional. Not only Bruno Ganz, but also the other protagonists display maximum commitment to their work. The well-cast faces of Joseph and Magda Goebbels, whose cold-bloodedness and unhealthy devotion to the Führer almost surpass the terrible expression of Hitler’s demonic personality. Goebbels’s cold-eyed expression will haunt me for quite some time. Among other things, the film provokes the thought of what the world might look like if Hitler had succeeded in his plan. The scene in which he makes a visionary speech as he walks alongside a mock-up of the center of the Third Reich’s capital is one of the film’s best. (21/04/2005)

A movie that seems more like a documentary that isn’t so much about Hitler’s last days, as about the people around him and his last atrocity committed on his own nation. Certainly worth watching, but if it hadn’t been made by Germans, it would never have caused such a stir (is it really making Hitler seem more human if he thanks his cook for his food?). Even so, it’s good that it was the Germans who filmed it; they need to chase the skeletons out of their closet. (06/05/2005)

This is the precisely and generously filmed agony of a deteriorating political system and the once proud and invincible army of Nazi Germany. It is probably the most impressive German film about their perspective on participation in World War II. Except for details such as personal dialogues between characters, it is based on historical facts. Hour after hour, we can observe the relentless tightening noose of encirclement around Berlin, the declining mood of the bunker occupants beneath the Reichstag building, until it reaches freezing point, exposing human characters and the self-proclaimed elite, who wanted to rule the world, and who must now hold themselves accountable. It is an excellent study of human characters in a critical situation, evading responsibility in a live broadcast. Bruno Ganz deserves the highest recognition for his portrayal of the German dictator. Overall impression: 95%. (09/07/2013)

For a person who is not interested in history and confuses Husák with Hitler, it is certainly a meritorious and interesting piece of work, but for someone with an interest in history, it is a modest account that does not bring any fundamental new information and not even the controversial view of one human being that is so much proclaimed in the press. In any case, the performances were excellent, including Bruno Ganz, whose role was tempting to overact, which fortunately did not happen. Overall, I would see it as a three and a half stars, rounded down this time due to the high expectations. (26/11/2005)