A good historical film always makes you want to find out more

Rating: 8/10 (6 February 2009)

As the film starts we see the oath taken by the German army as thanks for not making the Nazi stormtroopers swell their ranks. In Tunisia the German troops are battling the British and the allies. Colonel Von Stauffenberg is a young officer who believes that Hitler is a threat not just to Germany but the entire world. After suffering a terrible injury after a British attack, Von Stauffenberg is relocated to Berlin, were as fortune would have it, he comes across the conspirators who are trying to kill Hitler but have failed in their last 14 attempts. Von Stauffenberg believes that as long as they can get a plan to take over from the SS and Gestapo after Hitler was gone, then it could well be 15th time lucky. Using Hitler's own plan "Valkyrie", the emergency plan for the military to retain control if the Wolf's Lair ever became cut off, Von Stauffenberg comes up with a fool proof plan to eliminate one of the most evil men in history.
Thus begins one of the most tense two hours I have spent in the cinema as you will the conspirators to succeed and fret at every step of the way that the SS or Gestapo may be on their heels, ready to burst through a door any second and take down each and every one of them. The mood of the period and the attention to detail is excellent, with one of the best ensemble casts of the year so far. Singer's direction is great and I for one learnt a hell of a lot about just how close we came to ending the second world war nine months early.
The thing I find strangest about this film is the critical mauling the film has received. Everyone I have spoken to has loved it, found it fascinating and came away with a desire to learn even more about Stauffenberg and the rest of the conspirators, so what's with the downplaying of it. I imagine one reason is the fact that the media have it in for Cruise at the moment and so he can't do anything right, even when he's on form. I also think that the fact that there aren't that many speaking roles for women in the film is another reason for some negative reactions. Well here's the thing about that focus group folks, THERE WEREN'T ANY WOMEN GENERALS THEN! I don't expect action heroes to suddenly start shooting the set up on "When Harry met Sally", "How to lose a guy in 10 days" or "50 first dates", so deal with the women's roles in this film.
I think the other reason that many people find a film like this hard-going is that it's hard from them to separate the Nazi's from the German army at the time or understand the sanctity of the oath they took towards the Furher or the reasons why? This is not an easy war film or one that fits into our perceptions like many of the Vietnam war pictures do. This gives us a moment in time when, if things had gone better, millions of lives could have been saved.
Don't believe the gripe!
Nuff said.