History performed with lightning... makes me wish there was more of its kind

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2018)

The last 10 days of the 3rd Reich has been fodder for plenty of films over the years, easy to make a 3-act structure around and showcase the fascinating final days of a corrupt dictator losing touch with reality. It's easy too fall into the realm of cliche with every character in one form or another having to cope with the fact that within a few days, nothing in their lives will ever be the same again... their system of government, their jobs, their family life, their society. Everything is soon to end.
Compared with THE BUNKER (1981) and HITLER: THE LAST 10 DAYS (1973), this film feels much more "real". Similarly with the others, it makes Albert Speer the natural voice of reason but strangely enough also puts Hermann Fegelein in this role once Speer leaves. Traudl Junge, though very much of Hitler's entourage, serves as the center of the film's point of view, giving the audience someone to side with due to her pure naivety.
Good narrative technique here showcases some truly spectacular performances, principally Bruno Ganz as Hitler. He doesn't quite capture Hitler's look as well as Alec Guinness and his voice sounds too raspy and high-pitched, but his mannerisms and commitment to the part are truly a part to behold. He plays his role not of a screaming tyrant (like Anthony Hopkins) but of a human being exhibiting both the ego-driven confidence of a superstar yet the panicked tantrums of a 4-year-old when he does't get his way. Of all the historical films I've seen, this is the most difficult in which to forget that I'm just watching a movie and haven't been somehow transported magically back to the past no matter how many times I've seen it.
The main rewatchability for me now comes from anaylzing the supporting players, all of Hitler's generals and "friends" who stuck by his side to the end. Some, such as Jodl, Mohkne, and Speer were more clear-thinking, while others such as Goebbels had likely lost touch with reality even more-so. It's fascinating to see how people cope with their world crumbling in around them, helpless to do much about it, yet at the same time obeying the rules of their corrupt system and worshiping tyrants who made their own megalomania and insanity that much clearer by the day. In a rarity for films of this kind, a few characters belonging to the SS (namely Mohnke and Schenk) are even given a sympathetic portrayal trying to save lives and end unnecessary bloodshed, giving this film authenticity in terms of presenting the events in moral shades of grey as opposed to black and white.
That said, DOWNFALL shuffles a lot of historical events around for sake of its narrative which bothered me. Goering, for instance, sent his telegram prior to Hitler's birthday and the shelling of Berlin by the Soviets. Fegelein was arrested prior to Himmler's "betrayal" too and events only played out vaguely in the chronology that the film presents. I suppose that is one of the greatest difficulties of making a historical film; accurately conveying causality and fairness to historical characters while at the same time keeping things interesting to the audience.