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Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. Disappointing. (Spoiler)

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The cat-and-mouse scenes were interesting and well done, owing mostly to the excellent portrayal, subtle and chilling, of the interrogator.
I understand the problems of the director: Sophie and her cohorts were guilty of printing anti-Hitler propaganda. Not exactly the stuff of exciting cinema.
So, to tell the story, he decided to concentrate on her post-capture interrogation, trial, and death.
But to portray this realistically would utterly be depressing--too much so for the director, anyway.
What we get is Sophie lecturing her Nazi persecutors far more than would be tolerated.
What is clear from true accounts of people in these circumstances is the immediate de-humanization to which they are subjected: Sophie is treated at all times with great respect, even having a sympathetic guard to console and support her.
The courtroom scenes were trite, replete with red-faced screaming judge and platitude reciting defendants.
Worst of all is Sophie's portrayal. Bloodless. No emotion.
She may as well have been captured for jaywalking.
One scene especially is telling.
A few moments before she is to be executed, she finally has her first chance to spend a moment with her brother and the other defendant. Does she run to him, holding him for the last time?
No.
She calmly lights a cigarrete, walks to him, shares a puff or two, and then finally, carefully embraces both men.
Bloodless, as I said.
The film did make we think of Bush and Gonzalez, though...

Follow Ups:

The actress was cute though! (nt - Eldragon 20:40:30 03/15/07 (0)
nt
Your warped, liberal hatred clouds your vision...... - mr grits 10:28:32 03/15/07 (6)
Being based on transcripts it was a very precise and moving film. The interrogator was brilliantly portrayed. My biggest shock was seeing the mini-guillotine.
Sophie was faced with imprisonment or death for handing out leaflets. Far from the society we live in...unless you imagination tells you differently.
.........
"I'm going to go pack for France."
- You should include "spoiler" if you're going to tell something vital. - tinear 13:51:34 03/15/07 (5)
  Now, unless you can "see" faces when you read transcripts, I doubt you can judge acting.
  As for the transcripts...yeah, I know what artistic license is, do you?
  I don't know what the heck your "liberal" comment is about but I'm sure the reader will notice your clever tagline.
  - I have always thought that the idea of putting that word in the title was silly - Victor Khomenko 20:02:20 03/15/07 (4)
    Those things never bothered me. You can hardly spoil the artistic impression.
    - Well, sometimes, like in my post below specific things about the ending are being spoken about - sjb 20:10:55 03/15/07 (3)
      and people should have the option of reading or not. Artistic impressions my remain intact but if you've never seen something it's nice not to know how it ends.
      Also, Tin's suggestion wasn't based on there being actual spoilers in Grits' post. He was just being defensive about being called on his bias.
      
      Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
      - No, SJ, I wasn't being "defensive." Grits mentioned a very specific item, - tinear 04:38:46 03/16/07 (1)
        
        In Reply to: Well, sometimes, like in my post below specific things about the ending are being spoken about posted by sjb on March 15, 2007 at 20:10:55:
        
        the guillotine, which was a shocking and critical piece of the ending.
        To have known it was coming would be to very much lessen the impact.
        
        I was just giving you - sjb 07:09:22 03/16/07 (0)
        
        In Reply to: No, SJ, I wasn't being "defensive." Grits mentioned a very specific item, posted by tinear on March 16, 2007 at 04:38:46:
        
        a good natured ribbing.
        
        Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
      - Funny you mentioned your post... I was just reading it - Victor Khomenko 20:15:35 03/15/07 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Well, sometimes, like in my post below specific things about the ending are being spoken about posted by sjb on March 15, 2007 at 20:10:55:
        
        In fact I bailed out somewhere along the way, as without having seen the film it didn't mean much to me.
        So I think it is largely self-regulating. We tend to read with more attention posts about films that touched us in some way. When I read about something I have not yet seen, I quickly forget most of it.
        But that's me. I don't recall been annoyed too many times by someone giving out the ending to me. Somehow I am usually able to work around it, without even thinking about it.
        But I guess there **could** be cases that would have irritated me.
I had a compleetely different experience of this film. - sjb 09:29:59 03/15/07 (1)
I thought the girl was great and the interrogation and court room dialogue was taken from transcripts so it wasn't more than would be tolerated (unless you consider that she was executed, which by itself is a sign that what she was saying wasn't tolerated).
I didn't find her bloodless AT ALL. She had a deep inner strength and showed a lot of emotion below the surface in small ways. I think if one is inclined to resist the idea that her strength came from her faith and that in said faith is where she put her emotions then one might see her as bloodless.
The scene with the two men was great. It was an extension of her quiet strength and I found it very moving.
I thought it was an excellent and quietly devastating film.

Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
- Agreed . . . "excellent and quietly devastating" (nt) - townsend 20:36:56 03/15/07 (0)
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