‘Valkyrie’ and other movie stuff (Lab 1663 (The Sam)) by Sam
Just when I thought Hollywood had grown disinterested in telling World War II stories, I hear of a new Brian Singer project called Valkyrie.
Valkyrie is written (at least partially) by Christopher McQuarrie, who worked with Singer on The Usual Suspects. It tells the story of what is informally known as the “20 July Plot,” a conspiracy of anti-Nazi Germans (mostly Wehrmact officers, although there were some civilian government officials involved) that resulted in the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944.
The story seems to center around Oberst (Colonel) Claus von Stauffenberg, who was one of the primary players in the assassination plot.
In addition to a strong director and writer, the cast seems very strong as well:
- Tom Cruise as Oberst Claus von Stauffenberg
- Kenneth Brannagh as Generalleutnant Henning von Tresckow
- Bill Nighy as General der Infanterie Friedrich Olbricht
- Tom Wilkinson as Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm
- Terrance Stamp as Generaloberst Ludwig Beck
- Eddie Izzard as Generaloberst Erich Fellgiebel
- Christian Berkel as Oberst Mertz von Quirnheim
- Thomas Kretschmann as Major Otto Ernst Remer.
I’m obviously thrilled to see Eddie Izzard in anything, and of course have immense respect for the acting talents of Stamp, Wilkinson and Brannagh. Christian Berkel is a nice surprise, he turned in an outstanding performance as Dr. Günter Schenck in 2004’s Der Untergang (marketed in the U.S. as Downfall).
The choice of Tom Cruise as Stauffenberg unnerves some people, and actually created some difficulty for the film’s production.
Singer wanted to film in parts of Berlin and elsewhere in Germany that were under control of the current German government. In recent years, there has been hostility between the German government and the Church of Scientology, of which Cruise is the best-known celebrity member. The German government has labeled Scientology a “cult” and thus felt that choosing Tom Cruise to portray von Stauffenberg, a man they consider to be a national hero, was inappropriate. They initially denied Singer permission to shoot on government property.
Eventually, the German government came around when they were convinced that Valkyrie would be a respectful treatment of a story they consider to be one small bright spot in one of their country’s darkest hours.
Others have expressed doubts about Cruise’s ability to play the role with the necessary gravitas. Considering his early performances in movies like Born on the Fourth of July and later performances in movies like Collateral and Lions for Lambs, I personally disagree and think he’s got the acting chops to pull it off easily.
In addition, Tom Cruise bears an eerie resemblance to Claus von Stauffenberg.
So I’m pretty excited to see the movie. It’s a compelling story of a group of Germans who, although they may have obeyed orders for too long and shouldered their own share of the guilt, eventually decided to do something to take their country back from the brink of madness and obliteration. They failed, but it doesn’t make their efforts any less heroic.
Speaking of movies about Nazis, I recenly saw a little-known film called Eichmann. As the name might suggest, it’s about the infamous SS officer SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann, director of the equally-infamous Referat IV B4 of the RSHA.
If you’ve read any of the numerous books about Eichmann’s capture, interrogation, trial and eventual execution, you’re not missing any new information. But it’s an interesting, somewhat contained movie. The most interesting part of it is Thomas Kretschmann’s (who also appears in Valkyrie) performance as Eichmann. Some critics said they made Eichmann seem sympathetic, but I didn’t think so at all. Until the end, Eichmann is remorseless - claiming that he “never killed a Jew, never ordered anyone to kill a Jew” and that he was just a “transportation” officer. During the interrogation scenes, they flash back to show Eichmann (with Kretschmann out of “old man” make up and playing a younger Eichmann) perpetrating all of the crimes we know he did commit - including personally shooting a Jewish baby. I would say that they do make Eichmann seem complex and interesting, but most definitely not sympathetic. You feel no remorse when the film ends with a simple statement that Eichmann has been executed (they don’t even show it on screen). It’s just the logical and just conclusion to the story that’s been told throughout the rest of the film.
Troy Garity - who I’d never heard of before - does a great job as Eichmann’s Israeli interrogator, Avner Less. But ultimately, his character’s job is to be the sounding board and prod for Eichmann’s story. There is a side plot with Less’ wife, played by the beautiful Franka Potente, but it’s largely a useless plot and her talents are underused. The same is true of the great Stephen Fry, who plays Less’ superior.
I don’t know if people without an interest in the period or the subject will find it interesting, but if you’ve got the same morbid fascination that I do with the characters involved in history’s greatest crimes, it’s worth watching.
On a lighter note, I’ll be joining some friends on Friday night to catch an opening-night showing of Quantum of Solace, the newest James Bond movie. I liked 2006’s Casino Royale, so going to see Quantum of Solace is kind of a no-brainer for me.
Of course, as though they were secretly trying to assure my ticket dollar, it was announced some weeks ago that the first full-length trailer for the high-anticipated J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek (due out next May) will show in front of Quantum of Solace. Trekkers like myself have been eagerly gobbling up every press release, interview, photograph and clip of video even remotely related to the new Trek movie, so placing the Trek trailer in front of Quantum of Solace should help drive its revenues up a bit, at least on opening day :)
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