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Mathew Scott

Downfall

Starring: Bruno Ganz,  Alexandra Maria Lara,  Juliane Kohler,  Corinna Harfouch

Director:  Oliver Hirschbiegel

The film: There's no way you can make a movie about Adolf Hitler  and not court controversy. And the fixation Hong Kong seems to have with all things Nazi  guaranteed this release would fly off the shelves.

So what are you in for?

Well, the filmmakers - both director  Oliver Hirschbiegel and producer/screen writer Bernd  Eichinger - were at pains to tell the public they simply wanted to present the facts as they knew them, a sort of docu-drama that shows Hitler's last days as he's bunkered down in Berlin with his world falling apart.

It makes for riveting viewing. Bruno Ganz fills Hitler's boots - showing a man who commands respect from those loyal stooges who still surround him, but one whose madness has also taken control. He  explodes into fits of rage as he cowers under the ground and you're given a sense of the bedlam the bunker had become - wild parties on the one floor, a foreboding sense that the  end is near  for those close to him.  It's a stellar performance from one  of Europe's finest character actors.

As a work of pure drama  the  film is a success. But it's almost impossible not to question certain aspects of the film, or even the motivation of the filmmakers. Hitler is at times given a human touch. And it leaves you feeling uneasy. What are we expected to feel? Pity?

It's the same with the character  of Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge  (Alexandra Maria Lara). She's blindly loyal to the end, but we never get a sense of why she is.

The extras: For those wanting to know more of the story behind  the production - the reason  the filmmakers chose to do what they  did - the director's commentary  will be a godsend. Hirschbiegel  goes to great lengths to reveal  his motivations. The making-of documentary and the interviews  with the cast also help. But maybe a further historical documentary would have rounded things out. There's more  on the German DVD set, so shop around if you want  more depth.

The verdict: Effective drama that raises more questions than it answers.



Downfall