Fair view of history

Rating: 10/10 (5 May 2005)

Superb performances all round. The murder of the Goebbels children is one of the most chilling scenes I've witnessed in cinema. Perhaps Bruno Ganz deserves Oscar for his dedicated and multilayer character of the Monster. The other actors are also magnificent. In the scenes where we escape the underground hell  an effective depiction of the Hitler Youth fighting on the streets as the Russians close in; the operation of the SS killing squads; some surreal cigarette breaks in the Chancellory grounds; the heroic actions of an SS hospital doctor working under blanket bombing; and a fanciful coda as a secretary makes her escape through Russian lines by averting her face  do we perceive the director's careful, but not objectionable, awareness of modern German sensibilities. Without doubt - 10 out of 10.