Synopsis
In 1942, Friedrich Weimer's boxing skills get him an appointment to a National Political Academy (NaPolA) – high schools that produce Nazi elite. Over his father's objections, Friedrich enrolls. During his year in seventh column,Friedrich encounters hazing, cruelty, death, and the Nazi code. His friendship with Albrecht, the ascetic son of the area's governor, is central to this education.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Max RiemeltFriedrich Weimer
- Tom SchillingAlbrecht Stein
- Devid StriesowHeinrich Vogler
- Joachim BißmeierKarl Klein
- Justus von DohnányiHeinrich Stein
- Michael SchenkJosef Peiner
- Florian StetterJustus von Jaucher
- Alexander HeldFriedrich's Father
- Sissy HöffererFriedrich's Mother
- Jonas JägermeyrChristoph Schneider
Recommendations
- 80
Salon
A potent and well-executed drama. - 75
New York Post
Gansel based the film on the memories of one of his grandfathers. The acting is believable; the photography, atmospheric; and the moral, unmistakable. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
All the paraphernalia so important to the image of the Reich, particularly the uniforms, are painstakingly rendered, bringing a heightened sense of realism to what might otherwise have been a romantic coming-of-age tale. - 70
The A.V. Club
It's an emotionally chilly movie with a blank, inexpressive protagonist, but it gains cumulative force en route to a viscerally moving climax. - 70
The New York Times
If Before the Fall feels a tad overdetermined, it also feels emotionally honest. Calmly and carefully, Mr. Gansel makes large points with small scenes. - 70
Chicago Reader
The hero (played with the right amount of adolescent insouciance by Max Riemelt) is a working-class boy admitted to one of the academies for his formidable boxing skills, and through him director Dennis Gansel captures the ordinariness of Hitler's supporters. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
This well-made World War II film from Germany is both a coming-of-age story and a critique of National Socialist ideology. - 63
New York Daily News
The homoerotic relationship between Friedrich and Albrecht is stopped short by tragedy, but the point is made - to Friedrich and the audience - that fascism has no room for humanity.
