Several reviews and comments have been made in regards to how Hitler is occasionally portrayed as a caring person, which can be understood in regards to the war crimes that he ordered.  However, it provides a contrast in his character that accentuates the madness behind the Nazi regime that ended up killing millions of people, and started a war that cost almost 50 million lives.  Bruno Ganz shows a beaten man who feebly attempts to stand strong through flaming rage and screaming ultimatums based on his own ludicrous convictions that many seemed to share in the bunker where he spent his last ten days.  Ironically, the gray, claustrophobic rooms of the bunker become an unintentional symbol for Hitler's narrow minded convictions, which were about to reach thier doom at the end of April 1945.

The film opens in 1942 when Hitler hired his secretary Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara), who stayed with Hitler until his death.  Her memoirs and a documentary, Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary (2002), served as the backbone to the film.  After the opening, the film quickly jumps forward to the near end of the war when Hitler and his closest people fortified themselves inside a bunker located in the middle of Berlin.  Much has been documented in history books in regards to Hitler's charismatic persona and his ability to get people to follow him.  Despite his strong magnetic charisma the audience gets to witness how people around Hitler begin to sneak away, as the Soviet Red Army is approaching while bombarding the city of Berlin without consideration of the civil population.

In a first thought Downfall seems to be focused on Hitler, but with more careful consideration the film depicts the people of Germany and how they were affected by the Nazi regime and the fall of the Third Reich.  Children considered Hitler as a hero, and into the end when soldiers where in short supply children were used to fill the depleted ranks in the diminishing Nazi war machine.  On the streets, people were murdered for being suspected as Communist sympathizers if they did not fight against the looming Red Army.  Yet, people believed that Hitler might have had a triumph card to play, as the people believed that they were suppose to be superior according to what Hitler had preached to them.

There was no triumph card, as Hitler continued to commanded his generals to move imaginary troops, execute orders of the destruction of Berlin, and show no regard for civilian life within Berlin or the rest of Germany.  Cruel comments were made by Joseph Goebbels (Ulrich Matthes) and Hitler, as they blamed the German people for the fall of the Third Reich.  Goebbels mentioned that he did not care whether the German people died, as they were to blame for electing the Nazi's into power and fulfilling the Nazi regime's goal.  Hitler infers that the German people are not fit to survive if they are not strong enough to survive.  In a sense, Hitler's persona radiates blame on others, as his leadership could not be faulty, only the incompetence of the people around him could be to blame.

This notion of Nazi superiority was also heavily imbedded within Goebbels' wife, Magda (Corinna Harfouch), who firmly believed that there was no other right government than National Socialism.  Magda displays her strong beliefs through having a chemist concoct a sleeping mixture that she makes her children drink with the intention of killing them.  The reason for killing her children is that she believes that the end of National Socialism will also be the end of the world.  After Mrs. Goebbels has put the children asleep she slips into their small bunker room and kills the children one by one through small cyanide ampoules followed by playing a game of solitaire in silence.

In the backdrop of Hitler's vicious ideology and neglect towards human life it might be hard to understand that he might have been caring, but this caring had a personal purpose.  Hitler displays his kindness to those who show him loyalty and progress, as he shows kindness to his cook, the secretary, and Goebbels who remain next to him like a faithful dog.  Maybe it explains Hitler's strong affection for dogs, as they could be manipulated and taught to do what he wanted such as sitting.  Hitler's dog Blondi, a German Shepard, occasionally acted in an unusual manner, which the audience learns from Eva Braun (Juliane Köhler) Hitler's social companion, who kicked the dog when no one was watching, as she could not stand the dog.  In a simplified perspective, the world should be run like a kennel according to Hitler, as people should be trained to think and do only as the Nazi regime dictated.  The training includes assimilation into a single minded perspective, which was accomplished through severe punishment and education of the youth.

In the simplified perspective of a kennel the audience should ponder the notion of true freedom, as people continue in modern day to push their values, beliefs, and morals onto the laps of others.  Diversity refers to a complex accumulation of ideas originated from a wide range of backgrounds where each notion is equally valued, as each person with each notion is unique and never truly identical due to the progress of education and experiences that form values, beliefs, and morals.  Hitler's version of the world suggests to punish people until they do what they are suppose to and then reward them for the actions that are desired according to the doctrine.  Ultimately, Downfall offers a dark historical illustration of what happen, which should still be contemplated in today's society in order to prevent similar events from taking place in the future.

DIRECTED BY

COUNTRY

Germany / Italy / Austria

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