I confirmed Hitchens’ death on Facebook. I spent about 15 minutes trying to think up a witty status…15 minutes wasted. In the end I shared the link from some of the other Facebook pages about Hitch’s death, changed my profile picture to a weak looking, slumped over Hitchens, and drove up the street to find some high sodium “food.” I just watched a movie about an influential man who many looked up to. If the film’s portrayal of Hitler is accurate, he was very aware of how history would perceive him. Hitler was, after all, personally responsible for the deaths of millions of people and bringing war upon the world. In some people’s eyes, Hitchens’ crime was far more heinous-he refused to bow to a non-existent celestial dictator and encouraged others to follow suit.
I’m ashamed to admit that I passed over Downfall dozens of times. I don’t actually remember what it was about the cover that finally made me buy it at Hastings. I liken the purchase to something CT told me about finally fucking a guy because he had been trying to “get it” for so long, or something equally ridiculous (by that logic I should be as familiar with CT’s vagina as her gynecologist). Before putting in the DVD I noticed the runtime of 155 minutes. I originally planned to watch Downfall on two separate days. There I go trying to plan things again. It took several bathroom breaks, but I stayed until the job was done. Downfall is the perfect example of a movie that knows exactly how long it should be. An hour shorter and you approach Michael Bay-like plot/logic jumps. An hour longer and you approach LOTR encore ending insanity.
As watching Boardwalk Empire does with the prohibition era, watching Downfall made me want to learn more about the last days of Hitler. I could watch a dozen documentaries on History Channel about Hitler and still be just as ignorant. I am just as ignorant. When I think of WWII movies, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan are definitely at the top of the list. There’s a nice contrast between the war on the front lines and the secret war that involved concentration camps. I did find myself immediately comparing Downfall to a lesser film, Valkyrie, mostly because it’s the only WWII film I remember watching that dealt heavily with Hitler’s bunker.
Another great similarity between Downfall and Valkyrie is the way the world seemed to fall more and more apart the longer I watched. In Valkyrie they went from successfully taking over the army to being lined up and executed. Everything about the coup’s collapse seemed sudden and chaotic. One of the great things about the Downfall descent is how slow the walls seem to crumble. Watching this depiction of Hitler’s last days was like watching a controlled demolition. I kept asking myself how bad it had to get before they did finally make the decision to kill themselves. If I was a general in the bunker I don’t see what would have stopped me from taking out my pistol, blowing Hitler’s brains out, and ending the needless sacrifice of thousands of German soldiers and civilians. Instead, like lemmings, the generals followed Hitler right off the cliff.
The preferred method of suicide by the German soldiers was interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people shoot themselves in the temple. There were a lot of mouth shootings as well, but I seem to find that in every WWII movie. I wonder if that’s more a sign of the times or the preferred method of storytellers. The use of cyanide capsules was also interesting. The scene that sticks out is the children being drugged, then forced to swallow capsules in their sleep because their mother didn’t want to them to grow up in a world without National Socialism. The last 30 minutes made me wonder what it means to “die honorably,” to “have a good death” and to “go out on your own terms.” There’s a lesson to be learned from Romeo & Juliet in there somewhere. If I wasn’t able to keep upgrading pumps or if my heart never regenerates, what avenue I would choose?
I wonder if Hitler was really as petty as Downfall made him out to be. In that respect, he reminds me a lot of my mother. In the middle of being under siege movie Hitler insisted that officers he felt betrayed him be killed for treason. He also blamed the German people for sacrificing their own lives and not being strong enough to fight back the Russians. It reminds me of the Republican mantra “if you’re not rich, it’s your own fault.” If you replace Hitler with the voice inside my head, the German generals with the women I’m foolish enough to try to make a part of my life, and the bunker with my mind, the thought process hits a little close to home. What that says about me, I don’t know. We are both failed artists, after all.
Downfall is the first time I’ve ever watched a movie that was entirely in German. Most of the foreign films I watch are in Japanese. I recently decided to rededicate myself to learning Japanese, Portuguese and French. One of the reasons for my recent purchase of movies from Hastings was to pick up some Japanese and French language films to help with immersion. I don’t actually like the sound of German. The acting in Downfall was so engaging I hardly noticed.
I haven’t watched The Sound of Music since I was a child. I must be one of the only black men on the planet who sings Edelweiss. Even after watching The Sound of Music dozens of times I had no idea what a Nazi was, and completely lacked historical context (I don’t think I ever truly understood the convent escape). Like many musicals of my youth, I would love to revisit The Sound of Music with 27 year old eyes.
http://www.downfallthefilm.com/
http://www.downfallthefilm.com/
