Compelling But With One Serious Flaw

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2008)

Watching DER UNTERGANG is something of a unique experience for me . It's not often I'd go out of my way to watch a foreign film , far less one that is often talkative and where the outcome is in no doubt . Even more remarkable is the fact that I sometimes rewatch this movie from start to end unable to take my eyes off screen . The reason ? It's one of the few films where the acting is truly compelling
I heard a lot of controversy about DER UNTERGANG as soon as Bruno Ganz had been cast and together with director Oliver Hirschbiegel they both decided to make a film where every minor detail about Hitler's last days should be totally accurate . They succeeded and that's not only my opinion because every professional historian has remarked that Ganz interpretation is the only truly accurate portrayal of Adolph Hitler . You find yourself unable to take your eyes off screen every time Hitler appears . Also of worthy note is Ulrich Matthes as Joseph Goebbles . Note how often Matthes appears on screen where he doesn't have to say a word , his burning presence is enough to hold the audience attention and radiates great evil . It's almost as if the audience have jumped into a time machine and landed in Hitler's bunker in the spring of 1945 . It's so convincing it's almost enough to give you nightmares
I would have happily given DER UNTERGANG 10 out of 10 but it loses a couple of points because of a serious problem and that is the way it somehow tries to make out the people of Nazi Germany are also victims of the Nazi regime . Notice the speech by Goebbles where he sneers he's not interested in the suffering of the German civilian population because " They voted for us and now their throats will be slit ". If you have little knowledge of European history 1939-45 ( I'm afraid such people are becoming more and more numerous as the years pass ) then you'll find yourself asking why don't the Germans just surrender ? It's easily explained by the fact that the Nazi regime murdered million upon millions of people in Eastern Europe and it's payback time as the red army advances into the heart of the Nazi regime . It's also interesting to note that we never see Soviet soldiers raping German women in their thousands . Again if someone with no knowledge of the period would ask why are the Soviets doing that ? And again the answer is simple - Revenge against a country /regime that was responsible for the deaths of almost 15% of the Soviet population . Don't you get the feeling the film wants to avoid awkward questions ?
This type of controversy seems to be responsible for Ganz , Matthes , Hirschbiegel and the film itself being very under rewarded at international film festivals which while being slightly understandable does seem wrong . There is no doubt in my mind that Ganz deserved the Oscar for best actor that year since it's the best performance I've ever seen by a non English speaking actor in a movie . If no one discovers time travel then this will be the closest we'll find out what it was like in the days leading up to the death of history's most hated figure