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Sophie Scholl - The Final Days

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Based on newly available documents, this "real story" retells some aspects of the White Rose resistance movement. The center piece of the movie is the interrogation of Sophie by a devoted Nazi, who nevertheless tries to save her and tries to build bridges for her, which she can not agree to cross. This is very intense and thrilling, Julia Jentsch is great and convincing as Sophie, but so is the interrogator.
The climax is the court procedure with Freisler in the chair. The court atmosphere may be nearly unbelievable to those who are not familiar with the history of Nazi "jurisprudence". It shows very well what anybody could have found himself up against for "crimes" like distributing leaflets.
Some reviews are putting this small masterpiece on par with The Downfall which came out about the same time. I do not manage to agree. For me, the Downfall movie lacks the clarity of meaning that Sophie has. I found it rather disturbingly ambiguous, to the extent that I saw it as propaganda for the wrong side. There is no such doubt with Sophie.

SOPHIE SCHOOL - THE FINAL DAYS is one of those films made more powerful by the understated production values. The script, yes, the story itself, is so powerful that it doesn't need big battle scenes or full-fledged staged crowd scenes to make it work: the dialogue among the actors speaks volumes.

Written by Fred Breinersdorfer based on documents from life and directed with enormous sensitivity by Marc Rothemund the film takes place in the last days of the lives of members of the anti-Nazi resistance movement The White Rose in 1943. Sophie Scholl (Julia Jentsch), her brother Hans (Fabian Hinrichs) and their friend Christoph (Florian Stetter) are organizers for creating leaflets warning the populace of Germany of the ills ahead should Hitler and his Hessians remain in power. They are caught, imprisoned and interrogated. Sophie's interrogator Robert Mohr (Gerald Alexander Held), though strong, does seem to understand Sophie's explanations for her denial of participation in the spreading of leaflets, but Sophie has the courage to speak out against the current government. Hans is likewise interrogated and when he confesses to the leaflet incident he is implicating both Sophie and Christoph and the three are brought before a vicious tribunal. Christoph pleads for his life and Sophie and Hans request that his life as a father be spared but the charges are made of iron and the three are convicted and immediately executed.

The fact that the story is true makes it all the more moving. Observing the inordinate amount of courage in standing firm for beliefs - especially in Sophie's case - is humbling for the viewer. How many of us, under similar circumstances would have that degree of conviction of ideals and bravery?

The acting by everyone involved is first rate, with Julia Jentsch and Gerald Alexander Held being especially fine. The pacing, scoring, lighting and direction of this film are keyed to the atmosphere of the times in 1943 Germany, creating a sense of claustrophobia in the visual and the emotional aspects of the film. It is a brilliant work and deserves a very wide audience. In German with English subtitles. Grady Harp, December 06

Sophie Scholl (a committed, intelligent, idealistic Julia Jentsch) is a young German woman dedicated to bringing down the Third Reich.
It's 1943, the Germans are losing untold numbers of their men in Stalingrad, the news has leaked into Germany about the Final Solution and the young and college educated are risking their lives and that of their families by distributing leaflets all over Europe discrediting the War and Hitler...which is considered a death penalty offense.
Sophie and her brother Hans (Fabian Hinrichs) are caught and arrested and the bulk of the film deals with Sophie's interrogation by a government functionary, Robert Mohr (a sleazy, squirrelly Alexander Held).
For several days and until her brother Hans confesses, Sophie holds her own and even betters Mohr. Julia Jentsch is extremely effective in portraying Scholl's idealism and burning intelligence. Her Sophie is a leader, a firebrand: someone who accepts the consequences of her actions without remorse and without pointing fingers towards anyone but herself.
Too much of what Mohr spouts is pedantic, Nazi drivel whereas Sophie's responses are likewise pedantic, pie-in-the-sky and emotional. What makes their exchanges interesting is that they are based on official Gestapo records available only since German reunification. Despite all of this or maybe because of it, these interrogation scenes crackle with fire and truth: both Sophie and Mohr fully committed to their cause.
"Sophie Scholl: Die letzten Tage" along with the recent "Downfall" are more important as social statements rather than artistic ones. They are both shining examples of a country facing its past squarely in the face and recognizing and releasing its collective ghosts and demons: the first step towards redemption.

Unlike other movies during the Nazi reign, this movie does not focus on the bad of the Nazis but rather the good of Sophie Scholl. She is portrayed as a real person, and not some hyped up heroine. In the movie, as in life, she has faults and strengths. Her simplistic brilliance shines during the interrogation scenes.

It is important to remember that Sophie was a real person. Her and her brother were a bit wreckless when they went back into the Munich college at Sophie's urging. They made a mistake and they used their wits to try to protect one another.

I have done a considerable amount of studies on the White Rose. This movie stuck to the facts. Even the outlandish judge at the end was portrayed according to records.

If you want a historically accurate film from beginning to end, this is a wonderful pick.

`Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage' (`Sophie Scholl - The Final Days') follows the last six days of the life of Sophie Scholl, member of `The White Rose' small anti-Nazi organization that protested against Hitler through the non-violence method in the war-time Munich. Her life had been filmed in Germany twice before - `The White Rose' by Michael Verhoeven, and `The Five Last Days' by Percy Adlon both in 1982. Unfortunately I haven't seen them, but the fact proves that this anti-war organization during the WWII in Germany, some part of which still remain mystery, has been always a very fascinating topic in that country.

Now, using the unpublished materials that were unavailable then, German director Marc Rothemund made another film based on this important episode in the German history. This time he gives stress to the realistic description of the last six days of Sophie Scholl, a 21-year-old college student who was arrested with her brother during the political activities against the Nazi in 1943.

Actually Sophie was only posting and scattering the anti-Hitler fliers in college campus, but that was enough for the Nazi; at first, however, they were not sure. Sophie is just an ordinary student, and the Nazi interrogator Robert Mohr was not convinced.

The film spends considerable time in depicting the dialogues between Sophie Scholl and Robert Mohr, and the rising tension between two real-life characters, supported by historical material and strong acting, is one of the most impressive parts of the film. Consequently the film becomes a bit talky sometimes, but both Julia Jentsch (`The Edukators') and Gerald Alexander Held did a fantastic job as two realistic persons with souls, without making them too saintly or monstrous.

If you're looking for the facts about The White Rose itself, you may be disappointed. The behaviors of Sophie and Hans, her brother, before their arrest by the police look incredibly reckless, far from that of organized resistance. The film would not tell you much about what the group was really doing before they were caught because it is about the spiritual transformation of Sophie Scholl. I don't know anything about the historical accuracy of the film, but it is clear that the filmmakers took great care to present the most accurate portrait of Sophie Scholl (see the detailed procedures of the court, for example). Because of that, the film sometimes gets slower than it should be, but still the powerful acting from the actors are as fascinating as this historical event itself.

But the strongest, or I should say, the most shocking part of the film is waiting for you at the end of the film. One image still haunts my mind, which I can't tell you of course, but all I can say is, prepare for one sequence that is more unnerving and disturbing any suspense or horror films.

Like `Downfall' another gripping German film about the Nazi, `Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage' gives you a realistic image of a human during the war. And this is a heart-wrenching story about one real-life person that lived an extraordinary life.

The White Rose was a World War II non-violent resistance group in Germany famous for a leaflet campaign in which they called for active opposition to the Nazi regime. The group initially consisted of five students, all in their early twenties at Munich University. Between June 1942 and February 1943, they prepared and distributed six different leaflets, in which they called for an end to Nazi oppression and tyranny through active opposition of the German people. Hans Scholl, played by Fabian Hinrichs, and his sister Sophie led the rest of the group, including Christoph Probst, Alexander Schmorell and Willi Graf. A professor, Kurt Huber, who drafted the final two leaflets, joined them. All six members of this group were arrested, tried, convicted and executed by beheading. The Gestapo found a seventh leaflet in possession of the students at the time of their arrest. All three were noted for the courage with which they faced their deaths, particularly Sophie, who remained firm despite intense interrogation, and said to head judge of the court Freisler during the trial, "You know as well as we do that the war is lost. Why are you so cowardly that you won't admit it?"

This movie as mentioned has paid scrupulous attention to historical detail and focused on the end days. The only liberty taken was the compression of the interrogation and trial to three days and of course a couple of undocumented conversation, like when Sophie speaks prays with a priest before here death. Starting with the evening before they distributed the leaflet that would cause their arrest. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days proves to be both thrillingly suspenseful and emotionally devastating without having to go far behind the recorded historical facts

What I find interesting is that all the men of the white Rose were war veterans who had fought in France and the Eastern fronts. So they saw what was transpiring first hand. Sophie played by Julia Jentsch, had completed her Labor force duties, had joined here brother at university and is the heroine of this story. She tried to take sole responsibility once the Gestapo and proved she was responsible in an effort to protect others. They were trying to urge the reader of the leaflet to "Support the resistance movement!" in the struggle for "Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and protection of the individual citizen from the arbitrary action of criminal dictator-states". Principles that are the foundations of Europe today.

One final note, I have seen the clips of the actually trial that Gobels filmed and Freisler was played brilliantly by Andre Hennicke, Julia Jentsch is great as Sophie as is Gerald Alexander Held as Investigator Mohr. This is a must see film. Not only for its historical significance but also for the example of an example of a Christian with a moral vision and strength in dire circumstance. This movie illustrates what real courage and heroism are all about. Today, there are many memorials of the White Rose throughout Munich and their story is known to every German. The White Rose may have been silenced too early but their words echo on..."Freedom".

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (Marc Rothemund, 2005)

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days reminds me a good deal of Der Untergang in that both of them take an almost documentary-like approach to a span of a few days in the life of one person during World War II. That, however, is where the similarity ends (and Sophie Scholl starts looking more like Hirchbiegel's previous film, Das Experiment); this is a much more intimate film, and all the more disturbing for it.

Sophie Scholl, played here by Der Untergang's Julia Jentsch, was a member of the resistance movement known as the White Rose. On February 18, 1943, Scholl and her brother Hans were arrested at the University of Munich and charged with distributing anti-Nazi propaganda. The movie starts with Sophie, Hans (Gun-shy's Fabian Hinrichs), and Christoph Probst (Ash Wednesday's Florian Stetter) getting the White Rose's sixth leaflet ready for distribution, taking it to the University of Munich, distributing it, and getting arrested thanks to Sophie's impulsive act of knocking one stack of leaflets off a railing so they rained down on people in the entrance hall. From there, we are taken through her interrogations at the hands of Robert Mohr (Anatomy's Gerald Alexander Held) and glimpses of her life in prison, through the trial and the execution. (Not a spoiler, given the movie's title and because, well, it's history.)

Jentsch, of course, is the big news here, and the film lives or dies by her performance; even Held, since he only exists for the latter half of the film, takes a back seat to Jentsch. Her performance is strong enough to push the film along most of the time (the opening ten minutes or so are a little slower than effective to build the suspense Rothemund seems to be going for); Rothemund does the rest with some inspired direction reminiscent of David Fincher's use of chiaroscuro back before Fincher started phoning it in.

Quite good, this. Worth your time. ***

This film about Sophie Scholl, a member of a student group that dared to stand up to the Nazis, is a movie that will certainly move you. Wonderfully acted and filmed, this movie is real, not Hollywood. You will never forget how these young people stood up for what was right and you will ask yourself whether you could do the same. This film is one (and there are not many I would say this about) that you cannot miss seeing.

This film was rather simple with a sort of "low-budget" feel to it. That being said, it was excellently acted and directed and while a bit slow at times, I found it to be a very moving film.

The story is centered on Sophie Scholl, the young German student who is arrested in 1943 along with her brother for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets at school. She was part of a passive resistance movement called the White Rose. The beginning of the film shows her and her friends preparing for, and then committing their "crime" while the bulk of the film focuses on her interrogation and subsequent punishment. Ms. Scholl was clearly a brave young girl and she deserves to be remembered as such. That being said, I have to agree with a previous reviewer who questioned why they focused on her when it seems that her brother was actually more involved than she was? Is it because she was a female? Perhaps, but I suppose this is a trivial point. I certainly don't mean to take anything away from her or the film.

One of the best scenes in the film is the exchange between Sophie and her interrogator, Detective Mohl where they go back and forth about the ideals of National Socialism and Sophie's democratic ideals. The detective, a stubborn Nazi ideologue initially treats her with contempt while spouting harsh National Socialist platitudes, but as the interrogations go on, he develops a soft spot for her and perhaps even a little admiration for her steadfast convictions. The judge however, has no such sympathy.

Since I can't leave well enough alone though, I just have to criticize one thing, Sophie's cellmate, the friendly, righteous communist. Why is it that in so many of these types of films the communists are always portrayed as some sort of freedom fighters while the evil fascists are almost always monsters? Everybody knows that the communists were just as brutal (if not more) and killed even more people than the Nazis. And while I can understand Sophie and her cellmate's desire to be "liberated" the fact is, the post-war occupation (at least in the east) was arguably much worse than Nazi rule. Sure they were liberated, if by liberated you mean raped and tortured by the glorious Red Army. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

I am quite familiar with the story of "the White Rose" group in Munich during WW2. This movie is quite haunting and yet inspirational in its simple way of laying out the story. Starting with the printing of the 6th leaflet, to their arrest, interrogation, trial and subsequent excution she emerges as a German Joan of Arc. Most of the material in the story are from archives from the former East Germany and the writer and director let the story unfold without pressure or over dramatic sentiment.
During her interrogation you see the shift of power from the interrogator, Herr Mohr to her.
The courtroom scenes really capture the infamous Nazi judge, Roland Freisler. Some have criticized this actor's over the top performance. No, the real Freisler was as bad if not worse the the film.
I too drew some similarities between comments made about resistance in the 40's to today.
This film should be shown in every school to show whatreal courage is.