In 2004, Bruno Ganz delivered one of the most terrifying, textured performances ever put on screen — only for it to be remembered as a YouTube meme.
That’s why I’m revisiting Downfall. It’s not just one of my favorite World War II movies, but one of the best films of the 21st century, an Oscar-nominated tour-de-force that feels even more relevant now than when it was released.
The film is an intimate look inside Hitler’s bunker in the last days of the war that forces us to watch fascism collapse in real time. It’s scarier and more compelling than most horror films I’ve seen, and all the more chilling because every bit of it really happened.
Behind that one scene you’ve seen parodied dozens of times lies a gripping, devastating drama that examines fascism not on the battlefield where myths are forged, but in the rooms where illusions collapse. It’s a film that’s been mocked, memed, and misunderstood. But if you actually watch it, it won’t just haunt you, it will teach you something essential about power, delusion, and self-destruction.
