Very interesting

Rating: 9/10 (20 September 2005)

Recap: We get to see how the finals days leading up to Hitler's suicide from a couple of different perspectives, mostly that of Traudl Junge, Hitler's personal secretary. The pressure and angst keep keep building up as the enemy, mostly the soviets keep getting closer. A lot of officers react differently to the situation and Hitler himself seen to live in an fantasy world of his own.
Comment: A very interesting movie, and important as well, since the generation that can tell first hand what happened is slowly getting fewer. There has been many war-movies that focus on the horrors of the front for the soldiers or the terrible fates of innocent civilians. This is the first movie I have seen that entirely focuses upon the officers (Nazi) and Hitlers actions. That means, there is very little scenes of action or actual fighting in the movie. The war is mostly noticed through the sound of impacting artillery shells. I sincerely hopes that the movie is meant to be as accurate as possible, because it gives the impression to be, and from what I can read it seems accurate enough. The actors gives great performances as they play very different roles. There are those characters that are actually quite human and thinks of the bystanders, the people and the victims, then there are those, including Hitler and Goebbels, that are frighteningly evil. But all are convincingly played by the actors. It feels odd to discuss the entertainment value of the movie, since I'm not sure it is meant to have one. And true enough, it is not the kind of movie you laugh about or feel good after seeing. On the other hand it is very interesting and although it is fairly long and slow paced, there was not a single moment I felt like the move came to a halt or was boring. So, this is a highly recommended movie, maybe not for a more weekend-movie intended to cheer you up, but for a movie to make you feel and think.
9/10