Bene Cumb It took a while, but gradually has Germany got over its Nazi/WWII shame and depression, and has been able to start dealing with what happened during Hitler regime in a varied manner. Life is never black and white, even in totalitarian states, and lots of people try to live, to make their dreams come true, even if their romantic or innocent ideas are subordinated to crazy or dangerous ideas of others, of those with more money and power. So were most boys in NaPolA as well, it was just the war reaching Germany that accelerated their comprehension what was really going on, it was a sort of eyes-opener. And the truth in war time is always ugly, even if there are some excused reasons for waging war...The plot is skilfully created, there are tensions and twists, the development of characters is evident and logical. The most catchy performances to me were Max Riemelt as Friedrich Weimer, Tom Schilling as Albrecht Stein, and Devid Striesow as Heinrich Vogler; the rest were either too briefly on screen or did not distinguish from the crowd - well, and the uniforms did help that either.Additionally, it has to be noted, that such schools were not a phenomena of the Nazi regime only. Similar schools, with emphasis on ideology/values/strength did exist in the Soviet Union and still do exist in current Russia, and in many other not-too-much-democratic countries, often under hidden slogans and agenda. As children and teens are easy to manipulate with, and many parents like to reckon in black-and-white categories: better a future soldier than e.g. drug addict or criminal.

Armand a Nazi story. gentle and cruel, in same measure. a young man. his dream. a way. and the price. more than image of a youth organization, it is fresco of evil seduction. and chronicle of limits front to real values. result - a beautiful film. not only for performance of actors, for script or for realism of image. but for flavor after its end. it is a part of courageous German cinema work for define past out of precise definitions. for explore the essence, the seed, the heart of a nightmare who was, for its period, only a dream.it is a delicate operation this confrontation with dark ghosts. but it must be realized. for understand. for the honest verdict. as challenge. or warning. because the past is a puzzle of nuances. nothing else. the colors are only frame. but not the picture.

classicsoncall This is every bit as disturbing a film as "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" and one that should give every viewer pause regarding it's theme of man's capacity for inhumanity in the name of country and it's misguided leaders. This idea is chillingly represented by various scenes throughout the movie, but in case you don't get it, it's effectively reinforced by the Commandant of the Napola School who instructs his youthful audience that their bodies belong to Germany and The Fuhrer. With an indoctrination like that, it's not too difficult to understand how most young men selected for these Nazi elite schools would find it convenient to go along and get along with the prevailing ideology.For those who bear some personal responsibility for their actions, life under these extreme conditions becomes impossible. The suicides of Siegfried Gladen (Martin Goeres) and Albrecht Stein (Tom Schilling) underscore their personal torment and impossibility of escaping the physical and mental torture prevalent in their day to day existence. One is forced to consider - were these young men simply weak or were they instead the ones showing true courage and bravery in the face of unrelenting fascism.There's one particular scene that embodies the horror of the Nazi machine. When Friedrich's (Max Riemelt) junior class is called upon to track down escaped Russian prisoners of war, we come to find out that they were mere children, gunned down in the darkness by the Napola elite. As the critically wounded boy tended by Albrecht begins to die, a single snowflake drifts peacefully into his eye, melting in harmony with the boy's spirit which mercifully drifts away.There's one event in the picture I'm still thinking about and wondering why it wasn't addressed. During the session with the grenades, when the scared student fails to throw his weapon, the terrified trainer runs away. How is it he escaped reprimand for not living up to the ideals of Nazi ideology by sacrificing himself for his students? His action best illustrates how tyrants truly behave when faced with their own mortality, ideology be damned.

Neil Turner 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.