Before the Fall

2004

1 hr. 51 min.

Drama

History

List

67%

39 Reviews

Tomatometer

84%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

An idealistic boxer (Max Riemelt) bonds with an aspiring writer (Tom Schilling) while training at a Nazi academy.

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Critics Consensus

Despite a degree of predictability and cliches, the high production values and sincere performances by the leads elevate this coming-of-age story set in Nazi Germany.

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Ola G

In 1942, the boxing skills of Friedrich Weimer earn him a place at a National Political Academy (NaPolA), a boarding school that serves as an entry into the Nazi elite. His father, an anti-Nazi factory worker, refuses to allow Friedrich to enroll. Friedrich, who sees the school as his ticket to a better life, forges his father's signature on the permission slip and leaves. He makes his way to the town of Allenstein, where the institute is located. He is introduced to his roommates Christoph, Hefe, Tjaden and Siggi. That evening, they gain another new roommate, Albrecht Stein, with whom Friedrich becomes fast friends... "Napola – Elite für den Führer" is a well made WWII movie about the National Political Institutes of Education or "NaPolA" school developed by the Nazi Germany government. Strong perfomances and strong storyline.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/27/23

Full Review

Tony S

A great look into inner workings of Reich's boarding school from the perspective of two friends from two different backgrounds, unfortunately overt dramatization of almost every scene with overusage of slow motion takes away from the film's poignancy. What is portrayed should speak for itself. However it doesn't mean it fails in cinematography, it's quite beautifully shot and sets and costumes look wonderfully authentic.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/06/21

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Audience Member

Too obvious, but still fascinating.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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Audience Member

The best movie in the world ;)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

The straightforwardness of the film may not be pleasing for some critics, but it is per se the key to the emotional resonance at the end, of which lingers long in our mind.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

-- One of the best German movies I've seen -- This high quality German movie - who's original title is "Napola - Elite für den Führer" - is an absolute gem (made in 2004). It is not an action movie, but first and foremost a mesmerizing, albeit tragic, story about the friendship of two teenage boys in the Third Reich. It tells the story of the poor 16 year old boy Friedrich, who on the basis of his boxing talent, is, in the year 1942, admitted to one of Hitler's elite schools Napola (short for Nationalpolitischen Erziehungsanstalten). Friedrich considers this his chance to succeed in life. At Napola Friedrich befriends Albrecht (played by Tom Schilling), the son of a Gauleiter (high ranking Nazi party leader). Albrecht is literary minded, and his father considers him weak. It is Albrecht who stirs doubt, in Friedrich's mind, about the Nazi cause. The viewer is introduced to the Nazi-brainwashing of young "elite" Germans, and we learn what happens to those who can't cope with the physical and mental pressure. The acting by Max Riemelt (Friedrich) and Tom Schilling (Albrecht) is superb. My only complaint with the script is Friedrich's flawed boxing talent; he is, at times, unable to finish off his opponents, which basically makes him a hopeless boxer. The movie is directed by the German movie director Dennis Gansel (born in 1973). He has produced quite a number of movies, among them "Die Welle in 2008 (e. The Wave) and the vampire movie "We Are The Night" (2012).

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

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Dennis Gansel

Director

Max Riemelt

Friedrich Weimer

Tom Schilling

Albrecht Stein

Devid Striesow

Vogler

Joachim Bissmeier

Anstaltsleiter

Michael Schenk

Sportlehrer

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Marrit Ingman

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 4/5

Aug 26, 2006

Full Review

Terry Lawson

Detroit Free Press

Nearly every point made in Before the Fall, be it about militarism or the secret sexual codes of fascism, is made too obviously, or has been made before, in films from Cabaret to Europa, Europa.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 7, 2006

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Amy Biancolli

Houston Chronicle

It asks us to sympathize with teenage boys being groomed for National Socialist glory, and for that reason alone, it absorbs.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 24, 2006

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Paul Chambers

CNNRadio

Quite a nice study of the Germany military schools where young men were most sheltered from the atrocities of World War II. The central character knows what's happening but instead focuses on a better future than his father had. But, still decisions mus

Rated: c+

Jan 22, 2010

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Chelsea Bain

Boston Herald

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 21, 2006

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Eric D. Snider

EricDSnider.com

Gansel is to be commended for finding a way to tell a beautiful story simultaneous with indicting his countrymen for their ugliness.

Rated: B+

May 30, 2006

Full Review

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Synopsis

An idealistic boxer (Max Riemelt) bonds with an aspiring writer (Tom Schilling) while training at a Nazi academy.

Director: Dennis Gansel
Screenwriter: Dennis Gansel, Maggie Peren
Production Co: Universal/Universal Int
Genre: Drama, History
Original Language: German
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 29, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $144.1K

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