Filmmaker Marc Rothemund utilizes long-buried historical records to reconstruct the last six days in the life of renowned German anti-Nazi activist Sophie Scholl (Julia Jentsch) in an Academy Award-nominated feature that earned star Julia Jentsch a Best Actress award at both the 2005 Lolas and the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival. The year is 1943 and Adolf Hitler's devastating march across Europe has resulted in the formation of the White Rose, an underground resistance movement born in
Munich and dedicated to the fall of the Third Reich. Despite being one of the only female members in the White Rose movement, Sophie Scholl's conviction is strong and her will unbreakable. Eventually arrested by the Gestapo for distributing pamphlets on campus alongside her brother Hans, Sophie boldly maintains her ground by calling for freedom and personal responsibility and never once backing down even in the face of certain, inescapable death. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Sophie Scholl The Final Days is of accurate history of the brave last days of Sophie Scholl, who at 21, was accused guilty of high treason by distributing anti-Nazi paraphernalia at the University of Munich with his brother, Hans Scholl. Frank and compelling. A tribute to bravery and heroism. Significant.
There are some great films based on The White Rose movement but I think it important to remember that this film is based purely on the manuscripts found from Sophie Scholl's interrogation. It is a near as possible reenactment of her last days, her actions and her words. It seems an awful shame that this doesn't seem to
be of interest to most reviewers who it would appear would rather see a explosion-full Nazi killing adventure based on little fact (but why should the truth get in the way of a good war film eh?). The story has been respected as have the people and indeed history. A brilliant story, directed beautifully and with strong performances by Mohr and particularly by Jentsch who's praise is rightfully deserved.
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