Merrick here...


Merritcat's not exactly a new AICN contributor; her photography recently accompanied Mastidon's QUANTUM OF SOLACE reports. However, this is the first review she's ever written for AICN...and I'm not quite sure what to say to someone as I'm throwing them into the Lion's Den...(?)

So, here's Merritcat with her thoughts on VALKYRIE, which she saw at BNAT X last weekend.

Merritcat here fresh from BNAT X with a review of VALKYRE, which was part of the amazing line-up of movies at this year’s BNAT. During the screening of VALKYRE, I decided to write a review on it, and perhaps provide some personal insight on the movie from someone who has grown up in post-war, Cold War West Germany, and consequently has witnessed first-hand the (then) unthinkable event of the Wall coming down in Berlin in 1989 (even though that is not relevant for this review). The events covered by this movie are an important part of German history and are covered in history lessons in German schools. Most Germans have heard the name von Stauffenberg before and least know something about the events of 20 July, 1944.

VALKYRE, directed by Bryan Singer and starring Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, is based a true story. On July 20, 1944, Colonel von Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate German dictator Adolf Hitler in the Wolf’s Lair in East Prussia using a bomb in a brief case in order to set the stage for negotiations between the Allies and Germany. The goal was to quickly end the war and put an end to the oppression and suffering of the German people. Even though Stauffenberg successfully plants the bomb, Hitler only sustained minor injuries and then furiously tracks down the perpetrators, executing them and some of their families and friends or forcing them to commit suicide.

Von Stauffenberg, a devout Catholic, originally was a staunch supporter of Hitler. But as he learned about the atrocities that Hitler’s regime committed against Jews and other minorities the Nazis considered inferior, he started to distance himself from the Nazis. After being seriously wounded during an Allied attack in Africa, he is reassigned as a staff member to the Replacement Army in Berlin and joins the resistance. He teams up with other resistance members from the Military and together with Major General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh) and General Friedrich Olbricht (Bill Nighy) plots an assassination of Hitler and the replacement of Hitler’s regime with a government made up of resistance members. The plan at first seems to work; the bomb goes off at the Wolf’s Lair, von Stauffenberg is able to get back to Berlin and work on replacing the existing regime, but eventually the regime is able to restore order and arrest the perpetrators of the coup and eventually execute them.

The movie follows the actual historic events to the letter. The production team has done extensive research and was able to create impressive sets accurately portraying Germany during the last years of WW II. This is also due to the use of original props from the period, including restored air planes and some of Hitler’s personal items. The movie also vividly portrays the indecision of some of the army officers who had moral gripes about what the Nazi regime was doing but were afraid to not follow orders, as this was what was expected of them – for example the officer in charge of the communications room who told his subordinate to pass on both orders, the one to arrest an SS officer, which was issued by von Stauffenberg, and the one to arrest von Stauffenberg, which came from the Wolf’s lair: "We have to follow orders, and our order is to pass on these orders". It also portrays officers loyal to Hitler, like General Fromm (Tom Wilkinson), who knew about the resistance movement but did nothing to stop it – he just turned a blind eye on the conspiracy before the assassination attempt and did everything to distance himself from it afterwards to save himself.

The viewer is put right in the middle of the action, thanks to sweeping camera work at the beginning of the film and short, frantic cuts towards the end, when the perpetrators are hunted down. In order to keep this movie an action film and not to turn it into a docu-drama, Singer decided that the non-German actors should not use German accents but were asked to speak with neutral accents.

A great part of the movie was filmed on location in Berlin, using the historic buildings were the different ministries and offices involved in the plot were originally located, including the Bendlerblock close to the Tiergarten in the centre of Berlin, which today houses the German Federal Ministry of Defence. The request to film here originally created a controversy within Germany, as the German government initially rejected this on the grounds that the movie would simply sensationalize this important part of German history and that Tom Cruise as a prominent Scientologist was the wrong actor to portray von Stauffenberg – Scientology is rated as a cult in Germany and thus is closely monitored by the German government. After reading and reviewing the script the government eventually relented and allowed filming to go ahead. At the same time, the project had been supported by several well-known German actors and other public figures as they thought that a film on this important part of German history should not be held up.

After the screening, I talked to several people around me about the film. They were as fascinated about the subject as me, although most had never heard of this assassination attempt or knew hardly anything about the resistance movement in Germany or other European countries that had been occupied by Nazi Germany during WW II unless they deemed themselves armchair historians, as history lessons in US schools and colleges tend to present a very US-centric view of history.

We all agreed that the movie is important to see even if you don’t like Tom Cruise as it introduces you to an important part of German history not only Germans should know about.

The movie shows that not all Germans did just blindly follow orders or were staunch believers in Hitler’s Nazi party and his ideology, which some people still believe of the German people, but that there were large groups of Germans who did question Hitler. Many of those did what they could to work against the regime and were willing to risk their lives to resist it or try to bring it down. Some of these Germans are portrayed in this movie.

The members of the resistance never wanted to be seen as heroes. The film does not portray them as such. The perpetrators of the 20 July plot saw themselves as patriots trying to free the country from the grip of the Hitler regime. Many had originally been supporters of Hitler and his regime, but had distanced themselves from him when they learned about the atrocities that the regime had committed against Jews and other people the Nazis considered as inferior to the Aryan race. The perpetrators of the attempted coup were hoping to change history and bring democracy back to Germany. History has proved them right, with Germany, Europe and most of the Western world having lived in peace for the greater part of the past 60 years.

This is the message the film brings across and this is why the German government did allow the filming in Berlin – the movie sheds light on an often overlooked event in recent German history, but at the same time does not turn the members of the resistance into heroes. The participants in the attempted coup deeply believed in Germany and wanted to correct the evil that had been brought over the country by Hitler and his cronies, right the wrong that was done to the German people and restore Germany’s reputation with the world – just like any citizen of any other country would feel about their homeland and just like they would act to protect it.

Therefore I advise you to go see this film, even if you don’t like Tom Cruise – this is not just another typical Tom Cruise movie, but an important part of history everyone should know about – and enjoy a great action movie at the same time.