Hubmovies Review: Downfall (2004)

It is unlikely that any film involving the most infamous of all tyrants, Adolf Hitler, could not attract much controversy from every society, for as long as his heinous crimes are remembered with great sorrow and anger. Therefore it was no surprise that Downfall has attracted such attention, with detractors claiming that it shows Hitler in a “sympathetic light”. I would counter that it shows Hitler as a human being – and we all know humans are fully capable of becoming monsters.

Downfall charts the fall of Hitler’s Third Reich from the perspective of his confidantes – the innermost circle of Nazi Germany that once controlled most of the continent. What makes this film so powerful is that we the mangled corpse after the drop from the dizzying heights of power. Berlin, 1945, which was once the hub of a terrifying force of conquest and oppression, is now a shattered skeleton of its former grandeur. Rubble from perpetual bombardment lays still, ready to be crushed underfoot by the impending Soviet incursion.

But it is not Berlin that holds our interest - it is what lays beneath that truly moves us. Inside his impregnable bunker, Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz) is slowly losing his mind. Unable to comprehend the absolute failure of his ‘leadership’, he moves troops that no longer exist and plans revenge that he cannot possibly exact. Far from making us pity him, director Hirschbiegel portrays him as a contemptible creature willing to pull every ‘loyal’ man, woman and child into his burning grave.

Whilst Ganz’s extraordinary performance cannot fail to capture the audience, the most forceful emotional pull is to be had from his obsessive supporters. Magda Goebbels (Corinna Harfouch), so completely seized by belief in Hitler’s cause, performs the most unspeakable act that a mother could ever do. Why? To her, a world without Hitler and the Third Reich is one worse than hell itself. Such fanaticism remains unrivalled throughout human history; compared to this, Jihadism is nothing.

Downfall is without doubt one of the most shocking films I have ever seen, holding my attention long after the credits rolled. It is only by seeing Hitler, not as a crass caricature, but in flesh and bone, that we can fully appreciate the depth of evil concealed beneath that frail body.