Film Review: : Valkyrie

There is not too much I have to say about the new Tom Cruise movie except that it is not the complete disaster that had been anticipated. Most Americans know little about the July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler, so the movie is not a bad introduction to the conspiracy. Director Bryan Singer elected to make this a suspense thriller, and in that context Tom Cruise was probably not miscast. Actually Cruise is more restrained here than usual, although he is clearly upstaged by a team of first-rate British actors, especially Bill Nighy as General Friedrich Olbricht and Tom Wilkinson as General Fromm. Thanks to their performances, the film does manage to build and sustain the suspense, even though we all know the outcome.

Claus von Stauffenberg is a fascinating and contradictory historical figure, and a much better film could have been made about him , one that would have traced his disillusionment with Hitler and his belief, from a young age, in a "sacred Germany".  But that would have required a different screenplay and a better actor than Tom Cruise.

Comments

[MICROGOD]

One might raise the question what would have happened if the plot had been successfull. Would Germany have been denazified then, being confronted with the holocaust and war crimes? I don't think so.

[David]

The plot came much to late to change the course of history.

[antonymous]

What would have happened if?

Look at Italy. The "Duce" was deposed by the people and nowadays they have a truly neo-fascist government.

And that is also the basic message of this crappy Scientology approved movie.

[David]

You might consider actually seeing the movie before you comment.

And in your mind, every government except perhaps North Korea is "neo-fascist".

[antonymous]

David you are out of touch. They call themselves, by their own self-given designation, fascists in Italy. They are essential as coalition partners for Berlusconis greater mafia party. The mayor of Rome is a self-designated fascist (and a Zionist too). I bet they like Scientology too.

[microgod]

instead of italy i thought of japan and the yasukuni shrine and of russia

[jabgoe]

"The plot came much to late to change the course of history."
From the abstract point of view of a historian this might sound right. Nothing could have "saved" Germany nor could the allies have been lured into seperate peace negotiations as some of the conspirators had hoped. But it would have been an enormous difference for the war victims. In the time between this attempted coup d'etat and the actual capitulation as many people died as in the time before the assassination attempt. If it had been successful the numbers of war victim would have been considerably lower and that would have changed the course of history for many survivors drastically.

[antonymous]

Yeah.. nothing pains a common fascist murderer of today as much as the fact that German fascism was so utterly well destroyed.

It's very common to hear this from US-Americans and other violent, racist types because they are afraid this shows their own historical trajectory they are going to take..