"You must be on stage when the curtain falls." A+

Rating: 10/10 (27 June 2012)

One of those rare movies that takes us into the Third Reich, this film focusing on its final days. A German production from the actors to the composing, this film holds back nothing and shows the events just as they unfolded. As an avid watcher of documentaries, I've actually compared the archive footage and film print, and to be honest at times the only difference of course is the clarity. Watching it all, I got the strange feeling that this was what the end of humanity would like: Optimists never truly giving in, a rain of fire from the sky, and the broken down idealists finally accepting their fate. The portrayal of Hitler here is just that; a broken man losing control. I wouldn't go so far as to call the film sympathetic to the Fuehrer, but it does portray him as a defeated visionary. Bruno Ganz played the man with sheer excellence.
Also, the film shows what the desperation of war brings out in people. Even with the German defeat immanent blood runs through the streets of Berlin like a river. It's a gruesome reality that at times feels like a nightmare. The acting is Grade A material and you can feel how each person is feeling as their world crumbles around them. The film neither praises nor condemns what is seen on screen; the events simply unfold. It is in itself but a documentary of sorts, showcasing the ultimate downfall.
"If the idea of National Socialism dies, then there is no future."