German audience reacts positively to film on Hitler

The film shows the Nazis from a German perspective.
MUNICH, Germany (AP) -- A movie that taps the memoirs of Adolf Hitler's secretary for an intimate portrait of the Nazi leader's final days in his Berlin bunker received a standing ovation at its debut in Germany.
"Der Untergang" ("The Downfall"), with its chillingly lifelike portrayal of Hitler by veteran Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, has drawn critical praise as a film. But critics also question whether Hitler should be portrayed with a human touch, particularly in a German-made movie.
The film shows the Fuehrer stroking dogs and chatting amiably with female aides. It also shows him raging at his desk as the Soviet army closes in on Berlin and demanding that his followers not give up on the "final victory."
At the gala premiere in Munich on Thursday night, producer Bernd Eichinger said his aim was to avoid simply demonizing Hitler, and director Oliver Hirschbiegel argued it was time for a film documenting the Nazis from a German perspective.
"These were people and not robots, not schizophrenic, but people with an incredibly destructive insanity," Eichinger said. "It is part of human nature that we can be monsters as well as do good."
Previous films
Hitler's demise has fascinated filmmakers for decades. Actors tackling that subject include Alec Guinness in "Hitler: The Last 10 Days" (1973) and Anthony Hopkins in "The Bunker" (1981).
But Germans addressing the subject is a different matter -- especially at a time when topics long taboo because of guilt over the Holocaust, such as the suffering of German civilians under Allied bombing, are being discussed openly.
The conservative daily newspaper Die Welt heralded the film as a "sign of emancipation" showing Germany's ability to come to terms with its past.
"Germans have their history, but they no longer have it at their throats," the paper said. "That allows them to look Hitler in the eyes."
The 150-minute "Der Untergang" starts with the events of April 20, 1945 -- Hitler's 56th birthday -- and continues through his joint suicide 10 days later with Eva Braun, whom he married the day before.
The $16.5 million film, which opens across Germany on Thursday, also includes the suicide of Josef Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda chief, after he and his wife killed their six children.
Eichinger, one of Germany's best-known film producers, and Hirschbiegel tell the story from the perspective of Traudl Junge, the secretary who took down Hitler's will and told her story in a documentary released shortly before her 2002 death.