Watch Before the Fall For Free

That was an excellent one.

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

There is a time to stand up and resist or at least refuse. But there is also a time where that moment seems to have past. Because once a system is in place, it takes more than just courage to go against that system that will protect itself with all means necessary. Now some may ask why there are so many movies about the Nazis that have been made in Germany. It is easy because first of all it is something that they are familiar with and secondly something that should never be forgotten (something that some people unfortunately seem to forget every now and then).There are some nice boxing scenes in this too and there is some violence, so this is not for the faint hearted. Acting is more than decent too, which is very important for a movie of this size and magnitude but does not always work that way in Germany. If you want to have a look behind the training methods and what some people probably thought back then, this is a good start. Also the horrors of war ...

This is a brilliant movies about how kids were given a chance for great fortune in the future German empire, happily without the morality a Hollywood movie would portray the same material with. This is a movie that asks the viewer to think for himself instead of being predisposed. However much this is filmed in a style akin to that of Leni Riefenstahl, master director of nazi-propaganda films, it is a critical movie. And it also shows how people could sympathize for the cause, however brutal it was seen with historical hindsight. The actors of Albrecht and the boxer both do a good job here and the strength of the movie lies in what is cuts out, it's a sparse tale with just the bare necessities left, at least in what we're used to with western cinema.

Tightly written, lyrically executed and superbly acted. The cinematography and scoring are spectacular. The portrayal of the students at the Academy is believable and poignantly played out; it's what the actors emote between the wonderfully economical dialogue that grabs at your heartstrings and puts a lump in your throat. Max Riemelt is masterfully cast as the clean cut, hard working, teen-aged Friedrich. Friedrich ennobles himself to us from the get-go with his tenderness toward his younger brother and his quickness to shield his boxing friends from harm's way. Later he becomes acutely aware what needs to be done to survive and thrive in his new elite school, yet he ultimately feels honour bound to follow his moral heart.It is wonderful to see stories about the quiet resistance of German citizens and would-be soldiers caught in the maw of the Nazi war machine finally coming to the fore. There are likely many such accounts that got lost because they ended tragically or because we weren't yet ready to hear about them. The only missing thread I would have really loved to see is a romantic interlude between Friedrich and Katarina, where she comforts him after the training manoeuvre in the forest. Her apartment, a bubble bath, schnapps... Nonetheless it's brilliant without a love story. You don't need to be boxing enthusiast or a WWII history buff to take in this movie. It's all about making challenging life choices for betterment juxtaposed with doing the right thing. Rent this movie or buy it. You'll want to watch it more than just once!

This film's title, NaPolA is the acronym for "National-politische Erziehungs-Anstalt" or "National Political Education Institute" - a group of boarding schools established in Hitler's Germany to mold the elite of the future German grand society. It is stated in the film that the young men who attend these schools will be the future governors of such places as London and New York. For some reason, those "in the know" have chosen to give the film the mundane title Before the Fall for its existence here in the United States. NaPolA is a fairly predictable coming-of-age story, but its story's location in history, excellent acting, and superior production values give it five stars in my mind.The film begins in 1942 where we meet Friedrich Weimer, a young boxer of extraordinary talent who seems destined to follow in the footsteps of his working-class father and slave away his life in the factory. His boxing talent is witnessed by an official of a NaPolA, and he is given the opportunity of enrollment in the school. Friedrich is thrilled with the prospect of attending such an elite school, but his father is as dead set against it as he is disdainful of what the Nazis are doing to Germany. Friedrich forges his father's signature on the application and leaves for the school.The scene in which Friedrich is getting his physical for entry into the institute made my skin crawl. You see, Friedrich - played by Max Riemelt - is a perfect physical specimen by Nazi standards. His facial features are measured, and his hair and eye colors are compared to numbered standards. As these features are recorded, we see his mentors in the background slyly smiling at their perfect super human - creepy. The director, in this understated scene, expertly portrays the racial evil that was Nazism.Friedrich meets another student, Albrecht Stein - played by Tom Schilling - who is a sensitive writer. Albrecht has been enrolled by his father, the governor of the institute, and is not as enamored of the system as is Friedrich. These two opposites form a deep friendship. Needless-to-say, events occur that cause both boys - especially Friedrich - to examine their attitudes toward the system.As stated before, the plot line of the film is fairly predictable but the overall quality of the film causes it to rise far above that plot line. The boxing scenes in the film are superior. In the extra feature on the DVD, the director states that Max Riemelt is a boxer and was instrumental in making those scenes so powerful. The director's quest, inspired by his grandfather who actually attended a NaPolA, was also to make the events in the film as accurate as possible. In that quest, he hired a technical adviser who had attended one of the institutes. It is interesting to see the adviser putting the actors through their paces demanding unquestioning performance from these young men of today much in same way it was required of the actual young men some sixty-plus years ago.Striking, distinctive uniforms and the thoughts of honor and glory are so very alluring to young men in their late teens. NaPolA effectively reminds us of how that allure can be directed for the benefit of evil. This is one of the many excellent German films that shatter us with the harsh reality of what was Nazi Germany - truly effective use of the lessons of history.