Final Account

Play trailer

1:25

Final Account

PG-13

2021

1h 34m

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

70 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

50+ Verified Ratings

FINAL ACCOUNT is an urgent portrait of the last living generation of everyday people to participate in Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Over a decade in the making, the film raises vital, timely questions about authority, conformity, complicity and perpetration, national identity, and responsibility, as men and women ranging from former SS members to civilians in never-before-seen interviews reckon with -- in very different ways -- their memories, perceptions and personal appraisals of their own roles in the greatest human crimes in history.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Final Account falls shy of the definitive statement suggested by its title, but the belated reckoning on display remains chillingly valuable viewing.

Read Critics Reviews

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

12/05/2021

3/5

Final Account draws a line under a period of history that has been explored extensively before. But it also hints, in several chilling segments, at how pervasive some of the ideas that formed the core of Nazi ideology remain, even now.

Go to Full Review

Linda Marric

The Jewish Chronicle

12/03/2021

4/5

Perhaps the most shocking aspect of his film is the nonchalance with which some of his subjects recount those events.

Go to Full Review

Stephen Romei

The Australian

06/01/2021

4/5

I am fascinated by movies and books that push aside our view of history, one informed by hindsight, and take us to what it was like at the time it was happening.

Go to Full Review

Erick Estrada

Cinegarage

11/09/2023

While not visually elaborated, it is certain and precise in looking at the faces of these people who ended up in the SS [Schutzstaffel]... [Full review in Spanish] [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

08/17/2022

4/5

Holland condenses twelve years of work and nearly 300 interviews into a 90 minute study of how passivity can open the door to great evil and how denial of one’s complicity can take many different forms.

Go to Full Review

Saskia Baron

The Arts Desk

01/27/2022

5/5

Final Account is a masterpiece that puts Luke Holland in the same league as the great documentarian of the Holocaust's aftermath, Marcel Ophüls. It's unmissable.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Star B.

06/07/2021

Very interesting view of the youth of the reich and how they watched and where indoctrinated into the Nazi way. Very good would like to have known if the interviewer asked the same questions to each person.

See more

Richard R

06/06/2021

Brutally hard to watch knowing the history this documentary recounts. I knew it would probably have subtitles as all of the interviewees were Germans who were of late teens to adult age by 1938-39 and were participants in various German institutions of the German military or in support of the German war effort. They were asked questions about their history and experiences and what they thought both at the time and with all these years to reflect on that history. It exposes how easily some average citizens can be encouraged and/or manipulated into believing and doing things they wouldn't have done under normal circumstances. Has some relevance to the manipulation of our citizenry today through the internet.

See more

BonnieLee

06/02/2021

Interesting interview of Germans who observed and participated in Germany during WW11 of Hitler's reign of terror.

See more

Donna B

06/02/2021

Very interesting documentary told from the German perspective. The only issue was that it jumped from person to person and then back again. It wasn't a smooth transition from person to person. Great to hear from actual men and women who were active in the Nazi party and propaganda machine.

See more

Nina Krauthamer

05/31/2021

Clearly a great deal of consideration went into the making of this film. The responses, some of which are chilling, are placed in context. Most of the participants were children growing up in Nazi Germany, and clearly fell under Hitlers sway. One former SS member movingly acknowledged shame when presenting to young skinheads. A movie not to be missed.

See more

Michael

05/29/2021

Very sobering. The movie really delved into how and why young people got brainwashed into following Hitler and rationalized the atrocities they committed, some even defending what they did.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Luke Holland

Director

Luke Holland

Self

Luke Holland

Producer

John Battsek

Producer

Rieta Oord

Producer

Claire Aguilar

Executive Producer

Rising Phoenix

85%

91%

Rising Phoenix

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Rising Phoenix

My Name Is Pauli Murray

94%

84%

My Name Is Pauli Murray

Watchlist

TRAILER

for My Name Is Pauli Murray

All In: The Fight for Democracy

100%

67%

All In: The Fight for Democracy

Watchlist

TRAILER

for All In: The Fight for Democracy

The Great Invisible

94%

73%

The Great Invisible

Watchlist

Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America

98%

54%

Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Final Account: Trailer 1

1:25

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

FINAL ACCOUNT is an urgent portrait of the last living generation of everyday people to participate in Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Over a decade in the making, the film raises vital, timely questions about authority, conformity, complicity and perpetration, national identity, and responsibility, as men and women ranging from former SS members to civilians in never-before-seen interviews reckon with -- in very different ways -- their memories, perceptions and personal appraisals of their own roles in the greatest human crimes in history.

Director: Luke Holland
Producer: Luke Holland, John Battsek, Rieta Oord
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Passion Pictures, ZEF Productions, Participant
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Material|Some Disturbing Images)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): May 21, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 6, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA): $276.0K
Runtime: 1h 34m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now