The
riveting story of the arrest and interrogation of a Munich dissident in 1943 is
a true story that feels like one as well as a revolting but fascinating look at
the Nazi judicial system.
One of the nominees for this
year’s foreign-language film Oscar (it lost to Tsotsi, but would have
been my choice of the four I’ve seen), this is the absolutely riveting story of
the arrest and interrogation of a political dissident in Nazi Germany. In 1943,
Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans, members of a group called White Rose, were
arrested for distributing anti-government flyers at the University of Munich.
Sophie, played quite well by Julia Jentsch (of 2005’s excellent The
Edukators), denies guilt, but unless you forgot to notice the film’s title,
there’s not a lot of suspense about her eventual fate. Yet that doesn’t detract
from the movie at all. Part of it is knowing that the story is true. Watching
it, you wonder if you’d risk your life to distribute leaflets, if you’d
maintain hope seeing your country in the hands of a Hitler, if you’d sell out
your friends to save your life, and so on. The interrogator (Gerald Alexander
Held) is also compelling. He’s not amoral, and clearly feels sympathy for
Sophie, yet feels duty-bound to apply the laws of an immoral regime, which he
does skillfully. Finally, the look at the appalling Nazi judicial system is
notable. Definitely worth a look.
posted 8/23/13
No comments:
Post a Comment