Ventnor Film Society presents Downfall (certificate 15, 155 mins) at The Ventnor Winter Gardens on Tuesday 4 April 2006 at 7.30pm.
Hirschbiegel’s controversial account of the final days of the Third Reich is based on the memoirs of Traudl Junge. A young secretary offered the chance to work for the Fuhrer, she saw his steely resolve dissolve into suicidal paranoia, as he took with him his wife Eva, and his right-hand man Goebbels and his family. Ganz’s complex performance dominates a fascinating film, and while Junge’s realiability as a witness has been questioned, there is no doubting the force of its insights.
