Sophie Scholl: The Final Days

Munich, 1943. Twenty-one-year old Sophie Scholl and a group of young men put leaflets denouncing Hitler into envelopes. When Sophie's brother Hans offers to distribute more at the university the next day, Sophie also volunteers to help. They seem to have achieved their task safely until Sophie showers leaflets over the atrium as the bell for recess rings. As Sophie and Hans try to escape, the caretaker denounces them. At Gestapo headquarters Sophie is interrogated by Robert Mohr, a one-time country policeman elevated by Hitler's regime. An intense psychological duel ensues in the interrogation room between Sophie and Mohr; she lies and denies, then schemes and challenges. Ultimately crushing evidence is presented and, though forced to confess, Scholl fights to save the lives of her brother and friends. Based on transcripts of the interrogation and witness interviews, Marc Rothemund's Sophie Scholl is a tense and illuminating account of an extremely courageous stance taken against overwhelming odds. Featuring a startling, Silver Bear Berlin winning performance from Julia Jentsch (Downfall, The Edukators) in the title role, the film also won a Silver Bear for its director as well as numerous other European film awards.