SOPHIE SCHOLL
The Final Days
(2005 - Germany - 120 minutes)
Directed by
Mark Rothemund
This film details the last six days of
the primary members of a resistance group called the White Rose. The
White Rose was an organization of students, mainly around Munich,
during the years 1942-1943.The story of the events leading up to the
actual execution in 1943, of Sophie Scholl, her brother Hans and
friend Christoph Probst, is horrifying for the sheer banality of
their offence. As members of the student group they were secretly
distributing pamphlets daring to question Hitler's conduct of the war
and the likelihood of victory. They are caught by a tiny thread of
circumstance and increasingly dragged deeper and deeper into its
destructive mechanism.
A great strength of the movie is that
Sophie's religious faith is shown but left entirely personal. Both in
her interrogation and sham trial, she appeals to moral principle and
humanity not religious belief, in her defence of freedom and her
refusal to be silent in the face of injustice.
The acting of the three main characters
is simply superb.
This movie is more like a documentary
movie than a Drama. This is for sure no light entertainment, and
those, that don't like long conversations or even are not interested
in history, need not watch it.The film, of course, deals with very
difficult subjects, the show-trial, the tearing up of the truth,
basic freedoms etc. "Sophie Scholl" is an intelligent film
that shows a talented director, Marc Rothemund.This film appears to
have been made with a low budget. But, the impact is as powerful as
large-budgeted films of similar themes like "Schindler's List"
and "The Pianist."
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