Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)

Last updated on: August 18, 2014 at 3:19 pm by Jeffrey Overstreet

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005) 2014-08-18T15:19:49-06:00 Jeffrey Overstreet

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This review was originally published at Christianity Today.

–

A number of big names — Dame Judi Dench, Keira Knightley, Charlize Theron, and Reese Witherspoon — were Academy Award nominees for Best Actress in 2005. And Witherspoon, the winner for her role in Walk the Line, certainly deserved high honors. But could it be that voters overlooked a performance that’s even more riveting, memorable, and inspiring than any of these?

You may think so when you see Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. In this German-made movie, Julia Jentsch plays the role of a valiant 21-year-old hero who stood up against the Nazis, and who boldly proclaimed her faith even as she denounced Hitler as a liar. Watch her stand strong against the relentless, ferocious challenges of Nazi interrogator Robert Mohr, played with similar intensity by Alexander Held.

If the real Sophie Scholl was anything like the character played by Jentsch here — and the extensive research performed by director Mark Rothemund and screenwriter Fred Breinersdorfer indicates that she was — then she deserves a place alongside history’s most revered and celebrated Christian women. We haven’t seen a comparable clash between a principled heroine and a determined, malevolent villain since Agent Clarice Starling matched wits with Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. But where Starling and Lecter only met in a few fleeting scenes, this battle of the minds goes on and on, until you’re breathless with the heat of it.

Working from records of Scholl’s interrogation and incarceration that had long been unavailable, Rothemund and Breinersdorfer give us a fast-moving, feverish account of six days, a span of time in which the determined young woman goes from a covert freedom-fighter to a prisoner. In the opening scenes, she’s an enthusiastic, appealing student with an irrepressible zeal for the truth. She helps her brother Hans (Fabian Hinrichs) and a covert operation called “The White Rose” produce and distribute pamphlets that describe how the Third Reich caused the massacre at Stalingrad and forced Jews into concentration camps.

But when she’s arrested, after a nerve-wracking covert operation at the nearby university, the true tests of her character begin. The virtue and verve that Scholl demonstrated, first in deceiving her interrogators, and later in endeavoring to save her friends and family from execution, will amaze you, just as the real Sophie Scholl inspired Germans. Today, more than a hundred German schools are named after her, and Jentsch’s portrayal of Scholl may just inspire more brave young souls to pursue their own quests of justice and truth against all odds.

Scholl stands out on the big screen for several reasons:

First, she’s not made up to be glamorous. Hollywood often gives audiences short cuts to feeling sympathy for “the good guys” by casting super-appealing, beautiful figures in the role. Jentsch’s portrayal of Scholl lets her strength come from her argument, not her sex appeal.

Second, the filmmakers don’t rely on exaggerating the wickedness of the villain in order to make us root for Scholl’s survival. Instead, they portray her bravery as so audacious, so intelligent, and so spirited that we cannot help but stand in awe.

Which leads us to the third unique characteristic of Sophie Scholl— she relied on God, not herself, for strength, and Rothemund, a professing atheist, portrays her prayers without flinching. How many Christian artists are so willing to thoughtfully portray the perspectives of unbelievers? The filmmakers’ work is an honorable tribute, in that they did not edit this aspect of her life in order to provide something more palatable for mainstream audiences. (Unfortunately, not all critics are willing to acknowledge this. One prominent mainstream critic tells us it was Scholl’s “faith in the future” that sustained her. I’m not sure what movie she was watching.)

But Scholl is not the only highlight of the film. Held’s portrayal of Mohr is also award-worthy. Moviegoers have become accustomed to soulless big-screen Nazis, but Held gives us a Gestapo agent with a mind like an engine, and we can see the gears in his brain grinding as he analyzes Scholl’s impassioned defense. He starts out looking to ensnare her. But as he sifts her words, his face takes on a haunted pall — he realizes, on some level, that he cannot win this fight even if he kills her. She has the moral high ground, and he knows it.

Some may criticize the film’s other memorable villain — Nazi judge Roland Freisler (André Hennicke) — whose hysterical shrieking and gesticulating from the bench look like a textbook case of overacting. But records show that, indeed, this is a spot-on impersonation of one of Hitler’s maniacal henchmen.

Martin Langer’s cinematography is sufficient, but hardly imaginative. And greater attention to the early scenes might have helped acquaint us with Scholl’s personality and past better. But the film’s effect on viewers is undeniable. It won two Silver Bear awards — Best Director and Best Actress — at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival, along with its nomination at the Oscars. And mainstream critics, some of whom jump at the opportunity to smack down faith-oriented films for shoddy craftsmanship, are raving about how deeply it moved them.

If this is not reason enough for you to hurry out and buy a ticket, consider one more remarkable aspect of this film. Rothemund and Breinersdorfer remember to consider something about their champion that most hero-movies forget — her parents. When we meet Scholl’s mother and father, they are understandably distressed. But they are proud as well — proud that their daughter would rise to acts of courage and conviction; proud that she learned to care for the weak and the oppressed; proud that she would not merely swallow what her government told her, but followed her curiosity to the truth. Heroes do not spontaneously burst from the ether — they are raised.

That’s the kind of heroism the world needs today, both from young people who care about the future, and from parents who set an example. So even if you know how the story ends, take your family, friends, and neighbors to see Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. It’s one of those rare and wonderful films that offers a vivid portrayal of faith without compromising standards of excellence.

–

Blog

Film Reviews

Marc Rothemund

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days

Previous Post

February 16, 2006

Specials: Sophie Scholl. Casting news. X-Men ends.

Next Post

February 18, 2006 The New York Times' Stephen Holden praises "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Bloggers on "Through a Screen Darkly" Browser Coming Soon Endorsements Fiction Books Film Forum Film Reviews Inspirations Interviews Journal Kindlings Muse Movie buzz Music Reviews Non-Fiction Books radio Reviewers on "Through a Screen Darkly" The Auralia Thread Through a Screen Darkly Through a Screen Darkly - Bonus Materials Top 10 (or 20 or 100) lists Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 July 2003 May 2003 March 2003 September 1999

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What African country is known for its ancient Coptic Christian Church?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Nigeria Ghana South Africa Egypt