Before the Fall (Napola)2004
Before the Fall (Napola) (2004)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Despite a degree of predictability and cliches, the high production values and sincere performances by the leads elevate this coming-of-age story set in Nazi Germany.
Before the Fall (Napola) Photos
Movie Info
Cast
as Friedrich Weimer
as Albrecht Stein
as Sportlehrer
as Gauleiter Heinrich Stein
as Christoph Schneider
as Tjaden
as Hefe
as Siegfried Gladen
as Justus von Jaucher
as Vogler
as Anstaltsleiter
as Frau Stein
as Katharina
as Friedrichs Vater
as Friedrichs Mutter
Critic Reviews for Before the Fall (Napola)
All Critics (39) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (13)
Nearly every point made in Before the Fall, be it about militarism or the secret sexual codes of fascism, is made too obviously, or has been made before, in films from Cabaret to Europa, Europa.
It asks us to sympathize with teenage boys being groomed for National Socialist glory, and for that reason alone, it absorbs.
... hooks you by focusing on Friedrich's very human story.
One senses that Gansel took the most egregious stories from his research and stuffed them all into the shapeless script.
The film is a competent but callow work dealing with a monstrous subject that automatically rejects callowness.
A fascinating look at a little-known aspect of the Nazi regime.
Audience Reviews for Before the Fall (Napola)
These are the kinds of movies that people who don't like to read sub-titles miss out on. This was a great original story set right before WWII. It's really rare to get to view the other side of the story...the side where not all Germans wanted to follow Hitler, but were forced to. It's very enlightening.
Super Reviewer
Before the Fall, another German movie about WWII, only this one showed what happened in the German Elite Nazi school for male teenagers in 1942. Students were being trained to become future SS leaders, to be ruthless, hard without feeling any pain that their actions might cause their friend, family or the enemy.The movie showed some of the students who rejected their training and the consequences of their decisions.The effort to create a perfect controlling race was the main driving force behind the story. But instead we saw humanity winning over a truly evil and brutal regime. And that was the beauty of the movie. It was told in a very simple and sensitive way, with excellent acting and beautiful cinematography.
Super Reviewer
An intense Drama of powerful proportions. This is a film about ambition, conformity and above all, questioning beliefs. A film that cannot fail to make an impact on you. The style of this film was an interesting perspective, aiming the storyline at the Cadet age group, which brought forward some interesting characters and led to some interesting training scenes. A wonderful performance from Max Riemelt. This film is an instant favourite with me.
Super Reviewer
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