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Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)
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Reviews Counted:93
Fresh:81
Rotten:12
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: A film that begs the audience to reflect upon their own courage and strength of character in light of this young heroine's daring story.
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Feb 24, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: The true story of Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine is brought to thrilling life in the multi-award winning drama SOPHIE SCHOLL-THE FINAL DAYS. Germany's official Foreign Language Film... The true story of Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine is brought to thrilling life in the multi-award winning drama SOPHIE SCHOLL-THE FINAL DAYS. Germany's official Foreign Language Film selection for the 2005 Academy Awards, SOPHIE SCHOLL stars Julia Jentsch (THE EDUKATORS) in a luminous performance as the young coed-turned-fearless activist. Armed with long-buried historical records of her incarceration, director Marc Rothemund expertly re-creates the last six days of Sophie Scholl's life: a heart-stopping journey from arrest to interrogation, trial and sentence. In 1943, as Hitler continues to wage war across Europe, a group of college students mount an underground resistance movement in Munich. Dedicated expressly to the downfall of the monolithic Third Reich war machine, they call themselves the White Rose. Its sole female member, Sophie Scholl is captured during a dangerous mission to distribute pamphlets on campus with her brother Hans. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to the White Rose, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility that is both haunting and timeless. SOPHIE SCHOLL received three Lolas (German Oscars) including the Audience Award and Best Actress Award to Jentsch for her brilliant characterization of the title role. The film also won two Silver Bears for Best Director and Best Actress at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival. SOPHIE SCHOLL-THE FINAL DAYS will be released in the US in early 2006. Zeitgeist Films Ltd., 247 Centre Street, NY NY 10013 -- © Zeitgeist Films [More]
Starring: Julia Jentsch
Starring: Julia Jentsch
Director: Marc Rothemund
Director: Marc Rothemund
Studio: Zeitgeist Films
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Reviews for Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
A very tense study of the last days of Nazism, and a worthy homage to a true heroine...
A claustrophobic bio-pic which telescopes tightly on the torture of the fearless activist till her demise after less than a week in the hands of Hitler's sadistic interrogators.
The film has an immeasurable fascination that makes us look on as voyeurs and wonder how we might have reacted during such desperate times.
Although Sophie Scholl is noteworthy for its performances, it will undoubtedly fail to capture the popular imagination here.
Compelling in its depiction of quiet heroism, this testament to the power of passive resistance is made all the more authentic and poignant by the superbly controlled performance of Julia Jentsch.
Jentsch keep[s] up a subtle, restrained performance while the movie Nazis around her are screaming themselves red in the face. She succeeds beyond all expectation.
The realization that we are, in many instances, listening in on actual proceedings gives the film an immediacy that no dramatist could hope to match.
The subject matter apart, the film is a meticulously crafted drama, observing and recording the events, setting mood and creating a sense of time and place that further deepen our involvement.
While Scholl's virtuous life makes her eminently worthy of her own biopic, it doesn't necessarily make her the most interesting subject for a movie.
The film holds few surprises, though it builds a remarkable level of suspense during the fait-accompli interrogation scenes, and is a well-intended commemoration of a courageous young woman.
There's a resonance to Sophie Scholl that crosses borders and approaches the timeless.
There's no moment of release, no instant of sudden redemption in this powerful, moving, and altogether devastating film.
Though Scholl's inquisition and trial are harrowing, there's too little sense of what sort of person Scholl was. We can only grasp at air and guess what it was inside her that drove her to forsake her life in favor of a higher purpose.
The film has a serious, urgent tone, but not a preachy or strident one.
The narrative is tight and compelling, claustrophobic in scope, with acting performances that chill in their understated anxiety and courage.
Through it all, Jentsch is a beacon of bravery and resolve in the darkness of a totalitarian machine. If any actor in an English-language film has given a better performance in the past year, I'd like to see it.
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