Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Napola-Before the Fall (2004)



Before the Fall otherwise know as Napola is a 2004 German film about a boarding school, created by the Nazis to produce a future ruling elite. Which is historically true.

The film is told through the eyes of Freidrich Weimer played to great effect by german actor Max Riemelt, a young teenager who was recruited due to his boxing skills.
His family is against him joining, but he eventually runs away to the boarding school where he discovers the actual cruelty of the Nazis, and befriends a boy so different from himself who is more than willing to stand up against all this.

Napola is a fascinating film, there are so many facets of Nazi Germany which many of us haven't yet delved into, And Napola offers us that, a glimpse into another form of Hitler's projects to create a master race. The characters are well fleshed out, this is not a war movie, World War II is not even in the background, it is spoken of, and it affects the characters in the film but doesn't move the movie. What we see is the life of Weimer, how he perceives things, and the conflict of the morality of the situation. We see him struggle, and behind him like some sort of conscience is his friend Albrecht who tries his best to open his eyes and see what the Napola truly is, eventually he succeeds in a haunting way.

I was completely astonished at the end of the movie, and it got me thinking which is a good sign , because great films are often the ones that leave a mark, this one won't disappoint.



watch trailer:here

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