ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

THE GUILTY LEGACY of the War years continues to provide a rich source of inspiration for contemporary German cinema.

The award-winning ‘Downfall’ offered a powerful glimpse into the final days of Adolf Hitler. Now, the more modest ‘Sophie Scholl’ tells the true story of an idealistic young student who represented the voice of reason in a world of chaos.

Sophie Scholl, expertly played by Julia Jentsch, was part of the student organisation known as White Rose. Their intention was to oppose Hitler through non-violent means. They published pamphlets, wrote essays and sought to prick the conscience of the vast swathes of the German population who longed for an Allied victory and an end to the nightmare of Hitler’s regime.

The film is set in Munich in 1943. Sophie and her brother Hans (Fabian Hinrichs) are on a clandestine mission to distribute leaflets around their University. They are caught and denounced to the authorities.

The bulk of the film focuses on the subsequent interrogation of Sophie which is framed in the form of an intellectual debate with her Gestapo nemesis Robert Mohr (Alexander Held), a reasonable man who longs to convince Sophie of the error of her ways rather than being forced to condemn her a public trial and inevitable execution.

Set largely in the cramped surroundings of police cells and interrogation rooms, ‘Sophie Scholl’ could almost be a theatre piece, but it succeeds as a film thanks to the quality of its ideas and the understated power of the performances. Julia Jentsch glows with the conviction of a woman who knows that the tide of history is turning in her favour.

General release, selected cinemas
Director: Mark Rothemund
Stars: Julia Jentsch, Alexander Held, Fabian Hinrichs, Johanna Gastdorf,
Andre Hennicke
Screenwriter: Fred Breinersdorfer
Certificate: PG
Running time: 117 mins
Country: German/France
Year: 2005

© Allan Hunter, 2005