Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Diya Dutta This movie though with subs for me was perhaps the best movie I ever seen on WWII from an another viewing angle, not like that of Saving pvt Ryan or any of such from the Allied's angle. Rather here in this movie the inner story of how innocent young generations of Germany were transformed or rather brain washed into cruel Nazis with the hypocrisy of countries love & etc is shown here. Both the characters of Fendriech n Stein is portrayed superb with their own youngish sentiments & innocence. So its a must watch for all you people interested in WWII happenings. I rate this 9/10.

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.

Tekla-too This is one of THE best films about the Nazi regime I have ever seen. I am shocked that I never heard of it before. And saddened. It is the kind of film people NEED to see. Is shows two HEROES that are very young and are being "processed" to be unfeeling and obedient killers. Both of these men in the end do not choose to continue to obey. This is a very IMPORTANT film.You have to be gay or a homophobe to see anything gay in this flick, in my opinion. I just finished watching it. The relationship between the protagonist and his friend could EASILY have been -- and I took it as -- a heterosexual friendship that happened to be a deep friendship. My God, I can't believe all the hoopla about the gayness of this film. It is not about sex. It is about having a friggin' CONSCIENCE. If you are gay and you like to look at the protagonist that's your enjoyment but it is not the angle from which this film was made, and that is absolutely clear.People who try to make it gay are only trying to do a disservice to the REAL message of this film which is that each person as an individual MUST stand up for what they believe or we are all going to be living in a Nazi "paradise" one day. Believe it. Multinational corporations are totally fascist and have been since before they funded the Third Reich.By the way, there IS one very sexual part of this film and it is HETEROSEXUAL, where the supposedly gay friends are being peeping Toms. They are being called gay by those who have always tried to play upon people's prejudices to get them to do what they want. In this case, "they" do NOT want you to watch this film.

Absinthevideo I am not going to outline the plot.This film is very good, very similar to the Swedish "Ondskan" about young boys fighting again, against a system of institutionalised violence. The fear of punishment for disobedience that perpetuates this system is also absorbed into the movie and projected upon the watcher. The two main characters, two boys that share sentiments through some deep underlying humanity, start to question the morality of the Napola, and find themselves both outsiders with the only real solidarity and t trust within each other. The elders and teachers of the school are aloof, manipulative and perverse, but here in this film the Nazis are all portrayed as flawed humans, and not as alien beasts. There is a strong sensation of homo-eroticism pervading in the relationship between the two main characters, which reflects some tendencies in a strict, spartan boy school with a rigorous training scheme that is designed to root out the physically weak and the mentally strong. I thought the movie is a great comment on the right to speak up against tyranny, even if it does not bring much originality to the table. A spectacularly beautiful film, set in the idyllic countryside, to contrast the man-made brutality of a corrupt and perverse system.