Michelle in MO
12-26-2008, 09:44 PM
We just saw the movie yesterday as a family. I wouldn't say that the movie was a "home run", so to speak, but I do believe it accurately portrayed the July 20, 1944 assassination attempt upon Hitler's life by Count von Stauffenberg (played by Cruise) and Tresckow (played by Kenneth Branagh) and other members of the German Army. I'm very glad that it didn't have a "Hollywood spin" on events, kwim?
It was more of a movie focused on the events, so there was not a lot of deep characterization of Stauffenberg and others. I think it would have been difficult to give an in-depth portrayal of the men involved while at the same time depicting events, all within two hours. I think some elements of what happened might be confusing for someone not aware of the background of this attempt (i.e., names, dates, what happened when, etc.), but overall I would say the movie was accurate and did an admirable job portraying those events leading up to the attempt. I also appreciated that the movie showed how Stauffenberg and others tried to take control of the Nazi government. Stauffenberg had indeed thought Hitler had been killed in the bomb blast, so "Operation Valkyrie" was set into motion.
If your kids watch the movie closely, they'll see some of the errors that led to the failure of this most famous attempt, but I don't want to give you any spoilers, either (unless you want them!).
I wouldn't say that there was anything I thought inappropriate for most kids over the age of 13, other than there is some violence towards the end (i.e., the execution and suicide of key leaders). I did not find Tom Cruise's "star status" to be a distraction in playing the role of von Stauffenberg.
For an excellent follow-up, you might have your children watch "42 Ways to Kill Hitler", which was aired by National Geographic Channel earlier in December, I believe. Here's the link:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/42-ways-to-kill-hitler-3522/Overview
It's airing again on Wednesday, January 7th at 4:00 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel.
It was more of a movie focused on the events, so there was not a lot of deep characterization of Stauffenberg and others. I think it would have been difficult to give an in-depth portrayal of the men involved while at the same time depicting events, all within two hours. I think some elements of what happened might be confusing for someone not aware of the background of this attempt (i.e., names, dates, what happened when, etc.), but overall I would say the movie was accurate and did an admirable job portraying those events leading up to the attempt. I also appreciated that the movie showed how Stauffenberg and others tried to take control of the Nazi government. Stauffenberg had indeed thought Hitler had been killed in the bomb blast, so "Operation Valkyrie" was set into motion.
If your kids watch the movie closely, they'll see some of the errors that led to the failure of this most famous attempt, but I don't want to give you any spoilers, either (unless you want them!).
I wouldn't say that there was anything I thought inappropriate for most kids over the age of 13, other than there is some violence towards the end (i.e., the execution and suicide of key leaders). I did not find Tom Cruise's "star status" to be a distraction in playing the role of von Stauffenberg.
For an excellent follow-up, you might have your children watch "42 Ways to Kill Hitler", which was aired by National Geographic Channel earlier in December, I believe. Here's the link:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/42-ways-to-kill-hitler-3522/Overview
It's airing again on Wednesday, January 7th at 4:00 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel.