Friday, November 28, 2008
FINISHED
Der Untergang / The Downfall (2002)
Today's film was second half of
with Bruno Ganz as Hitler in the bunker with his acolytes.
One of the problems of watching this film is the unrelenting determination of a madman to finish himself and his countrymen off. How could this happen?
The makers of the film almost capture it. Hitler is not alone. He has his followers who, at the end, are more insane and unrelenting than he is. He commits suicide. They continue with the war, refusing to surrender themselves or the people who are suffering inordinately as the Russians attack.
There is a positive arc in the story with two characters who survive the war and find each other as they escape the Russian encirclement. A young disillusioned Hitler youth and one of Hitler's secretaries find each other "by chance", actually by the design of the film makers, to show us the future and that the German people can and will recover from this unimaginably awful end to which the National Socialists, Nazis, have brought them.
The account is said to be as accurate as possible as to the facts of the final bunker days.
This is fascinating to watch. Some things I had known. I get to see them played out. Others were new.
I seem to be deeply engaged with this time in my life history right now. I do not enjoy watching and learning about it but there is enlightenment behind the grisly and ultra tragic details.
I was born as it started and was 8 when it ended. My Dad went out on ships to fight against the Germans and then the Japanese.
I would like to see this film again and will look at it in another year.
In this respect, I am glad for the people that have made joke videos of the footage. They led me to watch a film that I would otherwise have missed entirely.
I will rate it a 5 out of Netflix5.
