Unique and compelling, but with some flaws

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2006)

I was really looking forward to seeing this movie. When I saw it I liked it but not as much as I thought I would. Perhaps this was because I knew the basic facts of the story beforehand but there were also some flaws.
When faced with a moral dilemma there are three kinds of people. Firstly there are a tiny number of moralists who will resist. Secondly there are a tiny number of psychopaths like Hitler and Goebbels. Finally there is the vast majority of sheep, who will go along with whatever they are told and compartmentalise it. The film does an excellent job portraying the first two. The characters who fall into the third category are not totally believable, with the exception of Traudl Junge. Other characters are shown with morals qualms which do not seem believable given the historical record.
In some places the dialogue does not seem realistic. There are things said by subordinates to Hitler which you cannot imagine being said. Partly this is because the director needs to inform the audience of particular facts. In situations like this the characters know each other so well, things do not need to be spelled out. It is down to the director's skill to ensure the audience is not left behind. This is one reason why this must have been an exceptionally difficult script to write. With a barrage of historical figures passing through the bunker it is easy to get left behind if you don't know who they are beforehand.
Even so this is a unique film and well worth seeing.