Sophie Scholl

Sophie Scholl. What can one say after watching froth and bubble and then coming to this serious piece. I knew there was internal resistance to Hitler during the war, but had not ever heard of Sophie. One quick search on the Net shows I was ignorant. I suspect being British had something to do with our blinkered one dimensional view of Germans. I remember being stunned when visiting Germany (West, back then) in 1971 and entering a bookshop and not seeing ANY books on WWII. After a few years things changed and I suspect reaction to David Irving had something to do with it.

The acting in Sophie Scholl was wonderful and low key, the impression given that these were ordinary people was very impressive. The actress was thankfully no Hollywood star (God save us from an American remake!) and her understated acting brilliant. The Director allowed space in every conversation for silence thus adding to tension. Many modern filmmakers take heed! The interrogator was well acted too, initially having all the power on his side, and that wonderful scary stare! As time passes we see he might actually be fooled by her, then might actually be listening to her. However his ...I felt, prejudices wouldn't allow that. I didn't feel it was merely his position he was protecting but his actually prejudices. His last appearance did not clarify very much for me. More could have been made of that scene. Especially as her comment didn't make sense to me.
Seeing her and the other defendants finally enter the courtroom and the play acted out before them was incredible. We wonder whether the Generals in the audience (the right word to use) were touched by reason, we wondered how the judge could utter such rubbish, and how he could reveal so much to us about his self belief. But what really struck me was an understanding of how Jesus was led like a lamb to the slaughter and used silence and inner strength to accuse his captors of their crimes!

Great film, well worth a second viewing.

Martin Luther King said:
"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a superficial look at history reveals that no social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle: the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. . . . Life's most persistent and urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?' "

[Reviewed by Nuthatch]

This film stayed with me long after it had finished. The story was moving and the actors were entirely believable in their roles. The colour for the most part seemed dull and dark, apart from the blue sky that Sophie looks longingly at through the window of her cell and the red cardigan that she wears throughout most of the film. Perhaps these touches of colour represent hope for the future during dark days? The film portrayed perfectly the agonising alternation between hope and despair. At one point, Sophie is almost released but the order for release is revoked at the very last moment. Later, Sophie finds out that the hoped-for 99 days delay between sentence and execution is not going to be forthcoming. It is at this point, when death is absolutely certain, that she breaks down but then recovers enough to make a brave end. The execution itself is shocking in its brevity and also in the perfunctory way it is carried out. There is no happy ending for Sophie but we, the viewers, are relieved to discover she did not die in vain. [Reviewed by Nightjar]

I don't really feel I can add much to the reviews above. As with many stories of the brave actions of people who stood up for what they believed I was left hoping and praying that I would do the same in similar situations. As Nuthatch said, I too was ignorant of Sophie Scholl and I agree that much of this has to do with the teaching of WWII in our schools, which presents quite a shallow view of the German part in the war due to fear that there is only one 'correct' way to present it and that is to focus in on the Holocaust.

I felt Sophie was very interesting as a character as I had the impression that her involvement had perhaps started out as an exciting exercise in rebellion. Afterall she was very young and was well educated and I would imagine that for her it was initially quite a thrilling thing to be involved in. As her story develops, however, we do see that she has more deeply routed convictions about the importance of freedom of speech not just for the sake of it as a principle but as a way for people to speak out to end the suffering of the German people (those who died on the battlefield and those who 'disappeared' to die in the concentration camps). It was, I imagine, the case that during her time of interrogation she came to realise what her deep-seated beliefs were and the process of questioning helped to strengthen them. I was also pleased that her personal faith in Christ wasn't glossed over in order to make her a more palatable heroine for modern time. I felt the acting was excellent and true to life and it was impossible not to be amazed and humbled by the dignity shown by Sophie and her brother in the face of death. I only hope that if I am called upon I will do the same. [Reviewed by Stonechat]