Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days was one of the five films nominated this year for Best Foreign Film. It is a good film that should be seen because it uncovers a piece of history that many people are unaware of. However, I think that it could have been a great film and, unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to its potential.
Sophie and her brother Hans are members of The White Rose, a group of German students that are against the Nazi regime. They print leaflets and distribute them all over Germany hoping to that people will wake up and see what it is happening to their country.
A short time into the film Sophie and Hans go to a local university and distribute their flyers in different places. As they finish their task, Sophie decides to throw some of the flyers off of a ledge. Several people see this and before you know it Sophie and Hans are taken into custody for interrogation. At first Sophie makes up lies and pretends that she doesn't know a thing about the flyers. At one point Sophie is almost released but at the last minute the powers that be change their mind. The police have made inquiries about her and Hans and it becomes impossible for her to deny her involvement with The White Rose.
The rest of the film is about the last few days of her life. Many of the scenes are in the interrogation room and Sophie is asked to name names, which she refuses to do. She even tells her interrogator why she disagrees with the Nazi philosophy. Sophie is even promised freedom if she signs a statement renouncing her beliefs but she refuses to do so.
The police round up a friend of Sophie and Hans named Christoph and all three of them are given a quick trial. They are convicted of treason and sentenced to death. The most emotional scenes in the film (at least for me) come towards the end when Sophie says goodbye to her parents and when she, Hans and Christoph hug each other for the last time. Those two scenes brought tears to my eyes.
I feel that this is a powerful film. But, I think that director Marc Rothemund could have trimmed it a bit. There were times when I felt that the pace of the film was stagnant. I do realize that the film was about the last days of Sophie's life but I wish that there more scenes involving the work of The White Rose. Julia Jentsch (who was also in The Edukators) was absolutely brilliant as Sophie. She gave a flawless performance, which was important because the weight of the film falls on her shoulders. In my opinion, her performance was better than any of the five actresses nominated for Best Actress Oscar this year (she won a European Film Award for Best Actress).
The film brings many thoughts to mind. How many people would take a chance like these brave souls and risk their lives for such a cause? I don't know. The film also makes you think about how important freedom is and how easily it can be taken away. See this film not only for Ms. Jentsch's performance but also as a lesson to us all in the hopes that if something like were to ever happen again that we would not give into our fears but be brave enough to fight it off.
Sophie and her brother Hans are members of The White Rose, a group of German students that are against the Nazi regime. They print leaflets and distribute them all over Germany hoping to that people will wake up and see what it is happening to their country.
A short time into the film Sophie and Hans go to a local university and distribute their flyers in different places. As they finish their task, Sophie decides to throw some of the flyers off of a ledge. Several people see this and before you know it Sophie and Hans are taken into custody for interrogation. At first Sophie makes up lies and pretends that she doesn't know a thing about the flyers. At one point Sophie is almost released but at the last minute the powers that be change their mind. The police have made inquiries about her and Hans and it becomes impossible for her to deny her involvement with The White Rose.
The rest of the film is about the last few days of her life. Many of the scenes are in the interrogation room and Sophie is asked to name names, which she refuses to do. She even tells her interrogator why she disagrees with the Nazi philosophy. Sophie is even promised freedom if she signs a statement renouncing her beliefs but she refuses to do so.
The police round up a friend of Sophie and Hans named Christoph and all three of them are given a quick trial. They are convicted of treason and sentenced to death. The most emotional scenes in the film (at least for me) come towards the end when Sophie says goodbye to her parents and when she, Hans and Christoph hug each other for the last time. Those two scenes brought tears to my eyes.
I feel that this is a powerful film. But, I think that director Marc Rothemund could have trimmed it a bit. There were times when I felt that the pace of the film was stagnant. I do realize that the film was about the last days of Sophie's life but I wish that there more scenes involving the work of The White Rose. Julia Jentsch (who was also in The Edukators) was absolutely brilliant as Sophie. She gave a flawless performance, which was important because the weight of the film falls on her shoulders. In my opinion, her performance was better than any of the five actresses nominated for Best Actress Oscar this year (she won a European Film Award for Best Actress).
The film brings many thoughts to mind. How many people would take a chance like these brave souls and risk their lives for such a cause? I don't know. The film also makes you think about how important freedom is and how easily it can be taken away. See this film not only for Ms. Jentsch's performance but also as a lesson to us all in the hopes that if something like were to ever happen again that we would not give into our fears but be brave enough to fight it off.
posted by Film Fanatic | 3:06 PM
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