Downfall
2004’s Downfall is a German movie, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, and written and produced by Bernd Eichinger. Based on several books, including memoirs by one of Hitler’s secretaries, and a high-ranking Nazi official, it tells the final days of Hitler’s reign over Nazi Germany.
Downfall shows Hitler’s final days in a snapshot style. Soviet armies are closing in, and some of Germany’s top officers are beginning to defect. Hitler himself is starting to fall apart, what sanity he has dangling on a shoestring. Faced with the inevitable, Hitler and his remaining allies prepare for the end, whilst those who remain must face the unenviable task of holding together what has been left in his wake.
Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Downfall is a fascinating movie. Whilst so many movies focus on how events on the battlefield ended the war, Downfall shows us a completely different perspective, with Hitler’s regime collapsing in on itself. An important film, and thanks to the insight provided by the source material, a rare look at Hitler’s inner thoughts.
