Sophie Scholl-The Final Days-Movie Review *** 07/11/2010
Posted by Films to consider in Based on true story, Biographical, Drama, German language film, Movies.trackback
Sophie Scholl – The Final Days (German) 2005
Among other awards:
Nominee, Best Foreign Language Film, Academy Awards
Winner, Best Actress, European Film Awards
Winner, Best Actress; Audience Award, German Film Awards (LOLAS)
Starring Julia Jentsch, Fabian Hinrichs, Alexander Held
The true story of 21-year-old Sophie Scholl, a member of the White Rose student resistance group in Munich in 1943. Sophie volunteers to accompany her brother Hans to campus, carrying with her a suitcase filled with anti-Nazi flyers that they distribute. The pair (along with five others) are arrested, tried, and executed without the delay usually accorded to those accused of such crimes. Other members of the group receive harsh sentences. Later, White Rose leaflets were taken to England via Scandinavia and dropped over Germany in honor of the Munich students.
Jentsch’s striking (and award-winning) performance shows Sophie’s steadfastness to her beliefs in the face of interrogator Robert Mohr. Sophie’s last words to her brother: “The sun’s still shining.”
Highly recommended. The DVD also contains chilling footage of actual courtroom proceedings. There are also several books written about Sophie and Hans Scholl and about the White Rose student resistance.
120 min. Unrated.
A book written by Sophie’s sister, Inge:
The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943
FILMS TO CONSIDER 
I was amazed to learn about the White Rose when i was in Munich in 2004 and visited the university where these events occurred. It was one of those “how have i never heard about this before” moments.
If you like Julia Jentsch in this, you should check out “The Edukators,” a more contemporary film about a group of young anarchists who make it their mission to critique capitalism by breaking into the homes of wealthy people and committing acts of vandalism until, of course, things go wrong.
Thanks. I read about The Edukators when researching Julia Jentsch. I’ll be sure to watch it soon.
DB