+23
Downfall is my #7. While the Battle of Berlin rages outside and the German Army and people are being slaughtered by the Russians, Hitler (Bruno Ganz) and his women, children and close advisors stay "safe" in the bunker while Der Fuhrer plots to maintain some viable position as a world leader. Downfall is fascinating on several levels. As a straight-up war movie, it delivers action, suspense and history in equal measure. As a look at Hitler's dementia and thought processes, it goes into more depth than probably any other film. It also hits home at the depiction of Hitler as a kind of "family man" and some of the hardest-hitting scenes involve what happens to the children in the bunker. Watching these scenes, I couldn't help but think of the various cults down through the years which ended in tragedy. Bruno Ganz fully personifies Hitler; his performance seems more to resemble a possession than simple acting.
I believe this, but I'll go ahead and watch this again real soon. Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder is basically a police procedural, but it comes across as a Hardy Boys/Korean version of a police procedural. The whole thing seems so ridiculous as the implication is that Korea is a backwards country with little technology and a bunch of incompetent, immature, violent cops who live their professional lives based on how American cops beat the crap out of everybody in 1940s movies. Anyway, at 130 minutes, it seems extremely long but I can accept it as mostly OK. The fact that the ending is a bit open-ended is good, and I have warmed to it a little over the years. The part which makes no sense to me is that this is listed as a BFI film noir, and that's why I first watched it, but if this is film noir, I'm an even bigger idiot than you may have ever thought.
My List
1. The Incredibles
7. Downfall
8. Up
10. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
11. Everything Will Be OK
19. The Pianist
21. Pride & Prejudice
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