The Third Reich is crumbling. In his bunker fortress, a volatile Adolf Hitler careens between denial, despair and euphoria. Rather than apportion some measure of blame to himself, he turns his various underlings into whipping boys and scapegoats : it was A who misled him, B who failed him, C who betrayed him and so on. Eventually he ends up blaming nearly every soul who ever drew breath in Germany. Even in his very last days, as his suicide draws near, he clings to his conviction that he was too noble for this ungrateful world...
"Der letzte Akt", which depicts the downfall of Adolf Hitler, is a bleak, sombre historical movie based on contemporary (or near-contemporary) witness testimony. Much of the tale is set in a pressure-cooker environment, to wit a large bunker that's become part military headquarters, part prison camp and part bacchanalian carnival. "Der letzte Akt" also depicts the growing chaos in a Berlin plagued by hard-faced fanatics who patrol the streets in hopes of executing someone. A grocer can be hanged for having the wrong facial expression, the wrong opinion or the wrong type of permit, but so can a much-decorated officer. Meanwhile crucial tactical targets are defended by young teens plucked straight out of algebra class - but that's all right, Hitler is just giving them the opportunity to express their inner warrior.
A tyrannical regime is destroying itself in an orgy of auto-cannibalism, right before our eyes, and it is not a pretty picture.
Anchored by a variety of strong performances, "Der letzte Akt" functions as a powerful warning against violent totalitarianism in general and Nazism in particular. Lead actor Albin Skoda gives a deeply unsettling performance as a moody, volatile despot capable of sacrificing everything and everybody on the altar of his own godhead.
"Der letzte Akt", which depicts the downfall of Adolf Hitler, is a bleak, sombre historical movie based on contemporary (or near-contemporary) witness testimony. Much of the tale is set in a pressure-cooker environment, to wit a large bunker that's become part military headquarters, part prison camp and part bacchanalian carnival. "Der letzte Akt" also depicts the growing chaos in a Berlin plagued by hard-faced fanatics who patrol the streets in hopes of executing someone. A grocer can be hanged for having the wrong facial expression, the wrong opinion or the wrong type of permit, but so can a much-decorated officer. Meanwhile crucial tactical targets are defended by young teens plucked straight out of algebra class - but that's all right, Hitler is just giving them the opportunity to express their inner warrior.
A tyrannical regime is destroying itself in an orgy of auto-cannibalism, right before our eyes, and it is not a pretty picture.
Anchored by a variety of strong performances, "Der letzte Akt" functions as a powerful warning against violent totalitarianism in general and Nazism in particular. Lead actor Albin Skoda gives a deeply unsettling performance as a moody, volatile despot capable of sacrificing everything and everybody on the altar of his own godhead.