If there’s one thing the German film landscape is good at, it’s dealing with the dark past. On Sunday there are two films on TV, which focus on two completely deal with the Nazi era in different ways.
First we experience the last days of Adolf Hitler’s life in the award-winning historical drama Downfall, then The Wave proves to us with a shocking experiment that another dictatorship is possible even in our enlightened society.
Two political dramas on TV: The Downfall and The Wave
Berlin, shortly before the end of the Second World War. While house-to-house warfare rages on the streets of Berlin, Hitler (Bruno Ganz) has holed up in the Führerbunker with a few generals and closest confidants. One person who doesn’t want to leave his side is his young private secretary Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara). Both inside and outside the bunker is the The fall of the Third Reich can no longer be averted. What happened in the last days before the end of the war was shocking.
The film adaptation of The Wave, which is based on a real experiment, also captivates you deeply. Here teacher Rainer Wenger (Jürgen Vogel) wants to make it clear to his students that fascism is by no means a relic of the past. The students should during the project days form a dictatorship themselves. What begins with fun and curiosity soon turns into bitter seriousness and Wenger has to realize that he has lost control over the young people.
The Downfall and The Wave are captivating until the end
The downfall shows the end of a dictatorship, the wave shows the beginning. What makes the two films so powerful is less the moments of violence and more the psychological effects. The blind obedience to an inhumane ideologywhich is followed even until death.
Despite all the criticism that German cinema often has to endure, Downfall and The Wave prove that there is another way. Produced to a high quality and with a first-class cast, the works captivate you until the end and don’t let you go even after the credits roll.
When are Downfall and The Wave on TV?
On RTL TWO the film marathon begins on today, Sunday, October 13, 2024 at 8:15 p.m with The Downfall. Followed by The wave at 11:25 p.m, of which there is no repetition. The channel will show The Downfall again on October 15, 2024 at 12:25 a.m.
If you missed the films on TV, you can buy or rent them on Amazon Prime Video. The wave is also available with a subscription on Netflix.
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