5. Sophie Scholl - Die Letzen Tage (Sophie Scholl: The Last Days)
The desire for Germans of the last 20 years to understand how the previous two or three generations dealt with their Nazi heritage has lead to a plethora of films which, whilst not endeavouring to exonerate those who went before, at least find examples of those who resisted. The TV mini-series "Operation Valkyrie" is one such example, as is "Rosenstrasse". It was the 2005 film "Sophie Scholl: The Last Days" that (could be argued) has shown the apogee of the German need to find an expression via cinema of their desire to feel better about the war. It is important that Sophie and her co-resisters are young, non-violent, educated, filled with joy and passion; in effect so much of what could be the antithesis of the dull, mindless, bestial cruelty of the older men who lead Germans into their own destruction. Now this is not a movie that tries to shy away from the incompetence or indeed the actual insignificance of the White Rose movement; the Nazi war effort or its malevolent path towards solving 'the Jewish question' was in no way deterred or undermined by Sophie and her colleagues. Yet as in so many other examples of popular culture, or more specifically film; it is the spirit that is depicted through the actions of the White Rose members which gives hope. Julia Jentsch as Sophie Scholl is extremely effective, but it must be said that she doesn't tower over her co-stars. Nor does Sophie herself as a character (with dialogue derived directly from the Gestapo records) establish a moral superiority over all, a sanctity that an unworldly heroine may possess. Alexander Held is surprisingly sympathetic as the interrogator Robert Mohr, who seems to be looking for every reason why Sophie should be let go. His fatalistic acceptance of her guilt almost bemuses and befuddles him; why would anyone not want to support the war, support the government, support the Nazis. Johanna Gastdorf as Sophie's cell mate Else Gebel provides a wonderful mixture of meekness and strength as she bears witness to Sophie's final days, and again the use of historical accounts strengthens the power of the film and Gastdorf's role. Now when all is said and done the final execution of Sophie and her two male colleagues utterly defeats any feelings of hope for the three young resisters. But in their tragedy, in their struggle to express some kind of opposition that perhaps was never going to be heard or understood by their contemporaries there is some kind of triumph to be prized. In "Sophie Scholl: The Last Days" a nation is able to briefly look beyond collective guilt and find limited yet bright examples of how not all Germans were evil in their most evil time as a country.
4: Das Wunder Von Bern (The Miracle of Bern)
There are few things that unite all Germans. The language itself has regional dialects, various regions may be dominated by Catholicism or by Lutheranism, the south (including Bavaria) is nominally the home of gemütlichkeit - a semi-rural hearty love of food, fun and beer whilst the north is possibly more austere, leaning towards that old Prussian coolness, and of course Germany as a single political entity has only existed intermittently since 1871. However when it comes to fußball - football, almost every German loves the round ball game. And in "Das Wunder Von Bern" director Sönke Wortmann found the perfect story to show Germans what brings them together. Whether as a country or (in the case of the focal characters of Lubanski family in 1954 Essen) at the individual level the victory of the German football team in Bern at the 1954 World Cup the 'Miracle...' presages better times which were desperately needed after the destruction of World War Two.
Where "The Miracle of Bern" wins me over is in its two main plot threads. The first is that of the Lubanski family, trying to deal with the return of father Richard (wonderfully portrayed by Peter Lohmeyer) who has been until 1954 a POW in the USSR. The Lubanski's are on the cusp of tearing themselves apart as Richard tries and seems to fail at understanding what has changed since he left during the war. He cannot function as he used to in the mines, his daughter is friendly with the Americans, his eldest son has Communist leanings, his wife is a strong-willed business woman and his youngest son Matthias, who he didn't even know before his imprisonment, has turned to local footballer Helmut Rahn for a father figure. After some serious fractures finally Matthias and Richard come to an understanding, and as son and father find something more than respect, it is through football they can love each other again.
The second important thread of "Das Wunder..." is the German team itself. Led by the wily old Sepp Herberger (played drily by the Péter Franke, who looks like the spitting image of the real Sepp) the German team comes from all parts of the country and has several personalities who at times clash, at times gel. Helmut Rahn (Sascha Göpel) is the semi-rebellious wild child of the team, whereas Fritz Walter (Knut Hartwig) provides the discipline, the drive and the self-respect that Die Mannschaft need to beat the amazingly great Hungarians (including legendary players such as Nandor Hidegkuti and Ferenc Puskas). As the movie builds to a climax, the final game sees Sepp's team take on the Hungarians and somehow, partly thanks to a downpour of rain and Adi Dassler's revolutionary boots, score an unlikely win. To make the movie even more like a national fable, Matthias Lubanski is there at the final moments, helping Helmut in the final drive to victory.
Now I am not going to deny that the film has some flaws. It is intensely parochial, and the inclusion of the reporter Paul Ackermann and his wife as major characters is a mistake. However when you watch this movie with any German with a love of football, or for that matter an understanding what it was like before the 'wunder' of the West German economic revival, then "Das Wunder Von Bern" transports you by a wave of nostalgic happiness that makes this viewng the film a far richer experience emotionally.
3. Das Boot
I've referred to this classic German film in a prior post (here) and what I said there holds equally true in this post. This 1981 war film focused on the crew of a Kriegsmarine U-Boat is one of the best German films ever (in my biased opinion). Serving as my entry point into Deutsches kino "Das Boot" first hove into view when I saw it on a video in the early 80s. It took until 1997 for me to see Wolfgang Petersen's masterpiece in the cinema, and the experience was truly memorable. The setting may have been the now-closed Pitt Street Centre Greater Union cinema but it at times felt like I was 200 metres below the surface sweating it out with the likes of Jurgen Prochnow and Herbert Grönemeyer. The manner in which Petersen combines technical brilliance with a strong narrative, immaculate pacing and an appealing atypical approach to Germany's war experience makes "Das Boot" a highly recommended film. This is no art-house subtitled genre flick; this is a film that speaks volumes to anyone no matter their language or country. And by the way, I should be seeing very shortly the almost 5 hour Bavarian TV mini-series which served as a variant on the movie's release, and I am sure that it will add even more to the richness of "Das Boot".
2. Der Untergang (Downfall)
I know that my interests in German cinema have strong connections to how that country attempts to interpret and deal with its past, and more specifically the Third Reich era. There are so many questions that one can and does ask about the Nazis, whether they be historical, moral, sociological, spiritual etc etc. And I am looking at this period, this German experience as an auslander; how do Germans themselves explain that part of their nation's collective past and indeed guilt today? "Der Untergang" is possibly the most significant attempt made by Germans in cinematic terms to explore the self-immolation, the moral bankruptcy, the mundane evil that lay at the very core of Nazism. With the assistance of some incredibly powerful performances, director Oliver Hirschbiegel uses the last days of Hitler and his inner circle whilst Berlin falls to the Soviet Red Army to depict the ruination of a country because of its (blind) adherence to an all too human monster.
The first and most memorable aspect of "Der Untergang" is the manner in which Hitler is characterised. Played with an almost supernatural insight by Bruno Ganz, this isn't the Hollywood Hitler that has no psychological truth, no deeper characterisation than he was inherently evil. Ganz's Hitler is both more historically real and more understandable as a man. This doesn't mean anyone can have sympathy or empathy for Hitler from his depiction. In fact, seeing Ganz's Hitler speak kindly to his domestic staff, show affection, revel in his own dreams and hopes makes the almost schizophrenic destructive elements of the performance more stark in their power. And isn't it more important to see a monstrosity that is shrouded in a semblance of normalcy than the caricatured, black hatted villain?
"Der Untergang" also has its impact reinforced by the use of Tradl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara) as part-participant, part-observer, part-everyman. It's Junge's character (reflecting again remarkable historical accuracy) that is there to witness Hitler the dog lover, Hitler the ranting lunatic, the pathetic life of Eva Braun, the tragedy of the Goebbel's children's murder, the last will and testament of both Hitler and Goebbels. Importantly in the film's coda the real Junge questions herself, perhaps representing all Germans. How much of her willingness to support Hitler was seduction, how much was willingness? "Der Untergang" doesn't deign to give an answer (which would have been the facile, Hollywood approach). Instead it leaves it up to every film goer to give their own answer (plus more uncomfortably ask themselves about what their own reaction may be).
There are simply too many other amazing reasons why I heartily endorse this film as one of my favourite German movies of all time. I will admit that this is a very personal opinion and there are people out there who could see a problem with a movie made by Germans which may be interpreted to show themselves as victims, or Hitler as a person and not just a homicidal maniac. This isn't a film that glorifies Nazism nor creates a heroic Germanic myth in sympathy with some kind of Wagnerian Götterdämmerung. This is a German film that attempts to use a combination of the cinematic form and historicity to ask questions and perhaps suggest answers as to the myriad raised by the rise and fall of Nazism.
1. Goodbye Lenin
Yet again a German movie with an important historical perspective. Yet again a German movie that deals with how Germans interpret their own political, social, moral and historical experience years after the events depicted. "Goodbye Lenin" is however a highly personal, genuinely moving, and dare I say comic insight into a very Germanic issue; Die Wende or the reunification of East and West Germany.The basic plot is simple; the relationship between an East German son and his mother is transformed by her going into a coma just as the wall is about to fall, her return to consciousness after the two countries are reunited, and the son's attempts to keep her from learning that her beloved DDR is no more. On the surface this is a movie redolent with 'ostalgie' (a German term referring to a nostalgia for the more appealing aspects of East German life to those who lived east of the wall) however it is more complex than that. "Goodbye Lenin" explores some universal human experiences, such as familial bonds, self-compelled delusions and unsatisfying cynicism, the experience of love, personal freedom and political freedom, and at its simplest what happened when one volk but two countries were forced together by forces neither really controlled.
I find this movie both enjoyable thanks to my innate curiosity about German history but also (and more importantly) because it looks at how a man copes with loss, love, his own sense of self worth, his family and what is most important to him. The performance by Dieter Brühl as Alex is wonderful; he captures so many of his character's emotional conflicts and expresses them with a truth that is very moving. The pivotal relationship between Brühl's Alex and his mother Christiane (Katrin Saß) has warmth, humour, love and a complexity which naturally reflects the problems inherent in the characters' back story. Around this is built a fable that has more (what I assume) truth about the reunification and its impact upon Germans than what official histories and important political documents will ever deliver.
Now part of the reason why I am so enamoured with "Goodbye Lenin" is how it has become part of the shared experience of my life with my partner. She was the one who brought it to my attention and she was the one who accompanied me to see it at my first German Film Festival. If anything "Goodbye Lenin" was a signal point in the joining of our lives together, reflecting the broader themes of unification shown in the movie. It's from here that my willingness to immerse myself in German pop culture strengthened, and perhaps also my love for my fiancée. "Goodbye Lenin" may be a German film, but it can speak to anyone, and more importantly, it speaks to me in a way that few other films do.
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