On That Other Failure of European Integration

I saw Downfall last night, the German movie capturing the last days of WWII in Berlin. This is really an incredible movie, and I'd advise anyone capable to go see it. The movie captured this eerie atmosphere of "the world is ending" extremely well. You've got some soldiers who just give up, get drunk and stay drunk - and partake in some raucous whoring, drugs, etc. Then you've got the other extreme, the people who insist stubbornly that the Fuhrer will lead them to victory. There's a hysterical moment where, after Hitler's death, the Germans attempt to negotiate with Zhukov's forces.

Let's repeat that - after killing somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 million Russians, the Nazis honestly believed they could negotiate a ceasefire. Zhukov basically laughs them out of his tent, not surprisingly.

Definitely worth seeing. Bruno Ganz's performance as Hitler is astonishingly good. He captures both the insanity and the pathetic extremes of Hitler's personality perfectly. To see Hitler screaming about how he's been betrayed by everyone around him at the end is an incredible moment. He looks like nothing more than a petulant adolescent. It's inherently satisfying for that, but it's also got an element of the bizarre. It's hard to remember, at that moment, that this was a man who commanded incredible loyalty, and yes, great popularity with the German people. (Until the 1980s, majorities of the German people routinely answered yes to the poll question "Aside from the war, Hitler was a good leader.")

Anyway, there's far more to this film then a blog post could cover. If you've got small second-run theatres near you, it should be showing up. Go see it.