Downfall succeeds in painstakingly depicting who did what when.

Rating: 8/10 (17 December 2009)

Claustrophobic, tense and often riveting Oliver Hirschbiegel's film is no sensational shockfest, but a living, breathing historical re-creation of Adolf Hitler's downfall. After World War II, Hitler's vivacious secretary Traudl Junge recalls the last grim days in the Berlin bunker before the leader of the Third Reich killed himself, as Russian troops advanced on the city.
Downfall is a fascinating film, featuring arguably the best portrayal on film of Hitler, by Bruno Ganz. It charts the delusional hysteria in the bunker with clinical clarity, yet the film has the same vulgar, voyeuristic appeal as the best reality TV: Eva Braun and her friends are literally seen dancing on table-tops and swigging champagne, trying to blot out the prospect of utter defeat and certain death. In contrast, a scene showing Magda Goebbels efficiently poisoning her young children is memorably chilling. Altogether, a superb re-creation of events. The film created controversy in Germany for its calm, neutral, non-judgemental portrayal of the Third Reich's leading players.