Film Review: Sophie Scholl - Die letzen Tage (Germany, 2005)

This is an interesting foreign language film about Sophie Scholl (Julia Jentsch), a formidable member of the White Rose, anti-Nazi resistance group active in Munich during 1943. She and her brother Hans print and distribute what might be termed samizdat leaflets, an obviously exremely dangerous activity in what was the home town of Adolph Hitler.

The two are students in the university and that was where they placed many piles of leaflets in the hope of creating some sort of uprising. Unfortunately, they got caught which leads to an amazing duel between Sophie Scholl and Robert Mohr (Gerald Alexander Held), the chief investigating officer of the police. The stakes are enormous, of course (under a charge of high treason) and Julia Jentsch is outstanding as a determined, very clever Sophie Scholl, coming up with answer after answer to the unending barrage of questions and evidence from Mohr.

Mohr initially disbelieves Scholl but she persuades him she is innocent and then is on the brink of release when Mohr uncovers unchallengable evidence from Scholl's flat.

As you'd expect from a film about arrest and interrogation, most of the film is shot indoors. Initially, Scholl's flat is bright and airy and illuminated by lots of American music. Outside, on the streets of Munich, the contrast could not be greater as everything is grey, dull and austere, just the garish red, white and black of swastika flags adding any (sinister) colour.

This is a very sad and thought-provoking film and the sheer heroism of Scholl and her group is incredible, almost impossible to understand from any free country in the early 21st century.

The end is simply heartbreaking, not least the awful method of execution of such an attractive, clever young woman. This comes after the almost parody of a trial - one of the infamous 'showtrials' held by the chief prosecutor down from Berlin to the "People's Court". He is awful, like that Streicher bloke in real life. Then again, what about Lord Haw Haw? He got executed for nothing more than the broadcast of words over radio.

A must-see film.