Sophie Scholl: The Final Days

It's no bulletin that Adolf Hitler was a maniac, or that life under the Third Reich was a nightmare, not only for Jews but for anyone—German citizens included—who dared challenge its murderous policies. Still, that knowledge does little to prepare one for the visceral power of Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, director Marc Rothemund's Oscar-nominated foreign film about a young woman who was executed for her role in the resistance group known as the White Rose. This true story—the facts of which are buttressed by minutes from the actual interrogations, interviews with witnesses, and other material—stomps on the viewer with the force of a jackboot from the beginning (when Scholl, her brother Hans, and other White Rose members prepare anti-Nazi leaflets for distribution at the University of Munich) to the end (when the Scholls and their friend Christoph Probst are tried, sentenced, and sent to the guillotine in the course of a single day). The events are horrifying enough: by 1943, even the Nazis knew their war effort was doomed, which partly explains their desperation to make an example of people whose actions, though certainly defiant, were strictly nonviolent. But even more affecting is Scholl herself (played brilliantly by Julia Jentsch): subjected to withering questioning by Gestapo interrogator Robert Mohr (an excellent Alexander Held), she remains preternaturally calm and unyielding, and her arguments with Mohr over their respective ideologies are riveting. Sophie Scholl honors a heroine of incredible courage, will, and loyalty. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. [Note: DVD extras include 58 minutes of historical interviews focusing on the real-life Sophie Scholl and The White Rose resistance group, a 55-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, 13 deleted/alternate scenes (37 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: an excellent extras package for a powerful foreign film.] (S. Graham)