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Dennis Gansel
Allemagne 2004
110min German o.v. English s-t.
The “male boarding school romance” has always been a hit among gay audiences (remember last year’s delicious Grande école?), but here the genre takes a darker turn by being set in the Nazi Germany of 1942 Berlin. Napola is a compelling story of male bonding and personal integrity. Teenager Friedrich (Max Riemelt) is lower-class, but he has striking Aryan looks and is a fine boxer so he’s recruited by the region’s NAPOLA (National Political Education Institute) – an elite Nazi training academy. While not a “true believer,” Friedrich is eager for the chance to advance himself, and thrives under the strict physical regimen. He gives little thought to the political indoctrination, until he befriends the sensitive poet Albrecht (Tom Schilling), whose father is a leading Nazi party member and is openly scornful of his son’s sensitivity and intellectual pursuits. After witnessing a massacre of escaped prisoners, Albrecht makes his opposition public, and Friedrich is forced to choose between his friend and his future. Before the Fall has lush cinematography, a powerful score and an award-winning script that never becomes maudlin. Riemelt could have stepped out of an A&F catalog, but the film offers far more than eye candy. Dennis Gansel has created a nuanced film that is both an insightful historical drama and a universal story about the joys and responsibilities of friendship and boldly resisting the hand fate has dealt you. – LF
Shown on:
thursday, november 10, 9H00 PM parisien 6 - pgm55 (Napola)
saturday, november 12, 7H00 PM parisien 2 - pgm72 (Napola)