Brilliant!

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2012)

This film is a truly admirable attempt to examine the character and mindset of Hitler and those closest to him. Indeed, I think it must be the most engaging and thought-provoking WWII movie I have seen. If this had been a Hollywood production with Hollywood stars it would not have had this impact, but it is German-made and its director (Oliver Hirschbiegel) seemed to go out of his way to avoid leading the viewer to any conclusion, instead allowing everyone to form their own opinion based on the facts. Too often the horrors of WWII led writers and directors to depict Nazis as monsters, but this misses the real story; the question of how they became monsters. In a way, the human Hitler which Hirschbiegel shows us is more guilty than a raving monster since it is clear he made choices to do wrong.
Bruno Ganz is absolutely convincing as Hitler, Ulrich Matthes plays Joseph Goebbels wonderfully, and indeed the rest of the cast are all excellent.
Highly recommended viewing and well worth the almost three hours running time.