Film Review: Downfall (2004)

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
Starring Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Kohler, Corinna Harfouch
Written by Bernd Eichinger (screenplay), Joachim Fest (book), Traudl Junge and Melissa Muller (memoirs/book ‘Bis zur letzten Stunde’)

Downfall is the depiction of Hitler’s final days in his bunker in Berlin, focusing on the close relationships he had with his senior officers and secretaries.

It’s not often that Hitler is depicted in war movies and with good reason. Being a highly sensitive issue, it is a role that not just anyone can be cast in. Enter Bruno Ganz. He completely dominates every scene and plays him with such skill that exposes his mediocrity. Yes, he was an extremely powerful, fierce and brutal leader, but by the end he was a small man losing his insanity in an underground bunker. He was not the grandiose figure that he was made out to be, he was a man enabled with a large number of skilled propagandists who built his image to that of a superman.

There was quite a bit of controversy regarding the film’s depiction of Hitler, with claims that he was presented as too humane and not enough of a monster. However I believe that this is a little unfair, after all – despite the fact that he might not possess many characteristics of an ordinary human being, that’s what he was nevertheless. He was also an insane mass murderer, but Downfall highlights both these aspects so well, and while never glorifying him.

Hitler biographer Ian Kershaw hit the nail on the head when he wrote in The Guardian:

    “I found it hard to imagine that anyone could possibly find Hitler a sympathetic figure during his bizarre last days. And to presume that it might be somehow dangerous to see him as a human being – well, what does that thought imply about the self-confidence of a stable, liberal democracy? Hitler was, after all, a human being, even if an especially obnoxious, detestable specimen. We well know that he could be kind and considerate to his secretaries, and with the next breath show cold ruthlessness, dispassionate brutality, in determining the deaths of millions.”

I certainly didn’t feel any sympathy for the Hitler than Downfall presented. I felt like I had been given a privileged insight into his final days and I gained a greater understanding of the path he took to get to that bunker in 1945. His pathetic and sickening justifications for the war really illustrate his dissension into madness.

The majority of Downfall takes part inside that bunker, but there is never an overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia. The bleak surroundings are a perfect fit for the disintegration order and morale, and the general form of the Nazi state.

While Ganz steals the show, he is supported by a group of extremely powerful performances. A significant part of Downfall is focused on Goebbels (Matthes) and his family; his wife and six children. Matthes plays the part of the propaganda minister with such precision and is probably one of the creepiest performances I have ever seen in cinema.

An extremely powerful film.

★★★★★