Downfall - Last Days of Hitler

Last weekend I saw Downfall, the German movie about the last days of Hitler which got ravereviews Oscar time last year..

Undoubtedly a heavy movie..esp. at the end but a great must-watch movie! Not to give away much (I recommend you see it, though be ready to get into a heavy depressing mood at the end when the Nazis accept the inevitable, with the Russians closing in on them in central Berlin, in a very disturbing end... but heck...they deserved every bit of it. Movies like Schindler's List have really brought the horrors to film very well.. and there are still innumerable stories, documentaries, and books still coming out about the horrors the Nazis perpetrated in the 30s and early 40s. In fact, here is one from today at cnn.com too ..evil incarnate!!

The movie Downfall is based on two books Inside Hitler's Bunker by Joachim Fest and Until the Final Hour (BIS ZUR LETZTEN STUNDE) by Traudl Junge and Melissa Müller. Junge, who was Hitler's secretary and was with him in the bunker the last few days but made it out of the bunker alive after his death, died recently and in fact features in the movies in short clips both at the beginning and end of the film. (The 2002 documentary, BLIND SPOT, is an extended interview with Traudl, in which she expresses "plausible deniability" for the atrocities perpetuated by her employer.)

Also, if interested, click here for a good summary about the rise of Hitler in Germany... I think from a historical perspective, how he came to power and took sway over the entire nation is far more interesting than how he faced his end over his last few days...