Don't be fooled by the cinematic excellence - Downfall is dangerous

Rating: 5/10 (3 January 2006)

As far as films go, Downfall is excellent. The acting by all concerned, particularly of Bruno Ganz as Hitler, is inspired. The reconstruction of Hitler's bunker and of the atmosphere within and without it in the last days of the war, so far as anyone can judge, is very realistic and convincing. The script, which draws on two separate historical documents recording Hitler's final days, is well constructed, and the directing of the entire film is on the whole is immaculate.
However, some films are more than mere vehicles for entertainment. Downfall is arguably one of the most important World War II films ever made for one simple reason  it is a German film. That a German director should finally decide to tackle this subject is itself commendable but the resulting film, though excellent in itself, leaves much to be desired. In fact, it is potentially dangerous. Downfall has won world wide acclaim, and audiences around the world were moved by the portrayal of the Nazi high command as vulnerable human beings and not dehumanised monsters. Unfortunately, by allowing the film to do so, audiences around the world are being duped into believing one of the most spectacular myths post war Germany has concocted about the relationship between the German people, its army, and the Nazi party led by Hitler. While not excusing the Germans' support of Hitler, the film is meant to make the German people feel better about themselves by spreading the myth that Hitler was mad, the army and its generals heroic, and most of Hitler's staff either ignorant of Germany's inhuman war crimes, or somehow conflicted about their role in the War. This utter nonsense shies away from taking responsibility for the true horrors of WWII. A German film focusing on the war could have focused on any part of it. Did the director choose to depict the rise of the Nazi party to power? Did he choose to portray the horrors of Crystal Nacht and the rise of institutionalised anti-Semitism? Did he choose to focus on the unprovoked invasion of Poland, or the Final Solution for the 'problem' of European Jews? No. The director chose to focus on the final days of the war when the Nazis may be portrayed as vulnerable and as a confused band of misguided dreamers who put their faith is a madman who led them to destruction. This view of historical events is not only disturbing but frighteningly worrying coming from a German director, even though it is predictable. The only way most young Germans today can cope with their past is to convince themselves of this myth; to convince themselves that their grandparents were all young Traudl Junges swept into the Nazi mania out of ignorance, fear, poverty, and a sense of national shame after the surrender of World War I, which, incidentally, the Germans also started. But just because the Germans need to believe in this to get on with their lives in modern-day Europe doesn't mean the rest of the world has to buy into it. Just like the memoirs of Miss Junge on which this film is based, the resulting film is just that - a subjective impression coloured by guilt, denial, and self-loathing. To hail it as historically accurate, objective, and self-examining is reckless and foolish.
A case in point is the portrayal of Speer. Speer was one of Hitler's closest confidants, and a key architect of the Final Solution. He was a rabid fascist, anti-Semite, who laid the architectural plans for all of the Third Reich's future centers of powers. During the Nuremberg Trials Speers pleaded ignorance of the Nazi Death Camps and claimed he was only an 'architect' of buildings. While the other caught Nazis were executed, Speer received a light prison sentence. He was eventually released and died of old age in the comfort of his home. Historians for a long time since then have exposed Speer's lies. It is a well established fact that he hoodwinked his captors and got away with what very few of the Nazis did. But the film embraces Speer's benign and false self portrayal as a mild-mannered, sympathetic man who attempts to convince Hitler to surrender and is really little more than an over zealous designer of buildings.
Downfall is a very good film. But audiences should not be fooled by its oblique propaganda. Moving on and allowing modern day Germans to cope with their past is one thing  but to promote the idea that the entire war was the fault of one very unstable man is dangerously absurd. One of the film's tag lines, spoken by the real life Traudl Junge, is that 'being young is not an excuse'; well that's just not good enough. It is only when the Germans look themselves in the mirror and confront the harsh reality of their history that the rest of the world could maybe one day move on and forgive while never forgetting.