SOPHIE SCHOLL

Echoing Downfall's contemplation of the darkest period in Germany's history, Sophie Scholl is a harrowing drama based on real life events and the activities of the White Rose Resistance group. Munich, 1943. A group of students, including siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, instigate passive resistance in an attempt to overthrow the Nazi regime. Sophie and Hans are arrested for distributing leaflets and an intense psychological duel ensues in the interrogations room between Sophie and Gestapo officer Mohr; she lies and denies, then schemes and challenges. Ultimately crushing evidence is presented and though forced to confess Scholl fights to save the lives of her brother and friends. Based on transcripts of the interrogation and witness interviews, Marc Rothemund's Sophie Scholl is a tense and illuminating account of an extremely courageous stance taken against overwhelming odds. Featuring a startling, Silver Bear Berlin winning performance from Julia Jentsch (Downfall, The Edukators) in the title role, the film also won a Silver Bear for its director as well as numerous other European film awards.