Sophie Scholl (2005)
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005) 4/10
Nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2006, Sophie Scholl tells the true story of a German student persecuted for distributing anti-Nazi phamphlets during WW2. What is remarkable about this film, is that the dialogue during the interrogation scenes are based on actual transcripts. Therefore much of the dialogue spoken by Sophie was indeed what the real life Sophie said in 1943. This attention to detail and realism is as much the film’s strength as is its weakness.
The major weakness is that, although faithful to historical detail, the film by its very realism moves at a painfully pedestrian pace. Nothing much actually happens here and given that the audience more or less knows of Sophie’s ‘guilt’ and final outcome (the film is titled THE FINAL DAYS after all), there is little suspense in the interrogation sequences. As a result, the film lacks the emotional resonance of Schindler’s List, or the hauntingly powerful central performance of The Pianist. Granted, Julia Jentsch gives a solid central performance as Sophie Scholl, but it is a performance that is good rather than great. And considering that the film literally rests on the shoulders of the lead actress, nothing less than greatness will satisfy. Virtually every frame has Sophie in it, no doubt a deliberate choice by the director, but a film that has such a dominating central role requires a performance that is phenomenal, and sadly, Julia Jentsch’s performance is not at that level yet.
Ultimately, while the realism of the film and the level of control in direction is commendable, it does not make for an enjoyable cinematic experience. More dreary than engaging, the script simply does not translate well to screen.
