Valkyrie

Jeri Jacquin, Movie Maven

Opening Christmas Day is the highly anticipated film by Bryan Singer with the true story of a little known piece of history in “Valkyrie”.

It is Hitler’s Germany in the summer of 1944 and many officers are beginning to question their leader - one such man is Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise). After being seriously injured in Tunisia, he is reassigned to Berlin.

While there he expresses his opinions regarding the brutality towards civilians in Germany, the starvation of Russian prisoners and the horrendous treatment of the Jewish people.

There are other officers who hear about Stauffenberg and recruit him to help bring down Hitler. He is recruited to the German resistance movement by General Fredrich Olbricht (Bill Nighly). Stauffenberg is quickly promoted to Chief of Staff of the Army Reserve which brings him closer to Hitler.

Going to Ludwig Beck (Terrance Stamp) and the resistance with a plan to assassinate Hitler – Stauffenberg agrees to do it himself. As a tool to stop any uprisings, ‘Valkyrie’ was a contingency plan to mobilize the reserve army. Stauffenberg attempts to use it against Hitler.

He agrees to do this knowing full well what will happen to his wife and children if he fails but believes they must all try one more time to save Germany.

Plans are made and others come forward to join in the fight. Stauffenberg sets his plan in motion and on July 20, 1944 a bomb begins the attempts of many brave Germans to bring an end to war.

FINAL WORD: This film is an amazing story. As with most good stories worth telling it takes time, and patience to see through. Cruise as Stauffenberg is deliberate in every scene and there is a belief that he embraces playing this role.  This character was believable and it was Cruise that made it so.

Wilkinson as Fromm is outstanding as you never quite know if he is for the resistance or against it till the end. Nighly as Olbricht ruffles the viewer to no end which is the trademark of a part well played.

There is a small role by Kenneth Brannaugh as Major Tresckow and Eddie Izzard as General Fellgiebel, Tom Hollander as Colonel Brandt, Thomas Kretschmann as Major Remer and Carice von Houten as Mrs. Stauffenberg.

Much of the film was done on location in Berlin, Germany and done beautifully. The government worked with the story being told and were very consiencous toward their people, both Jewish and German, in the use of the swastika symbol. As Claus said, there was a need to destroy evil so that the world may know that not all Germans believed in Hitler or his actions.  

The film begins with Cruise speaking German and fades into English. It is obvious there was no attempt at German accents here and, for a change, I would rather see good acting than listen to bad accents personally.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give “Valkyrie” four tubs of popcorn out of five. The story may start out slow but it works its way into an understanding of history that many may be unaware of. The ending is riveting, gripping and heroic.

In the end, many saw evil and dared to stop it.