Anyone expecting some sort of gay Nazi film exploiting the young, toned Aryan bodies of the Hitler Youth will be sorely disappointed. This film may be released by gay film distributors Picture This! but even to call it homoerotic is a stretch of the imagination. "Before the Fall" is perhaps homoerotic in the most pure and refined sense of the word, but certainly the film is not homosexual.

The film concerns young middle class Friedrich, a smart and athletic student who, against his parents' wishes, sneaks off to attend a training school for some of the Nazi's most promising students. Friedrich flowers under the tutelage of the officers at the school and even comes to be more aggressive and unflinching in the brutal boxing matches he engages in.

But Friedrich also flowers under the influence of Albrecht, a young and frail writer who is the teenage son of a Nazi officer. The two young men become friends and soon Friedrich finds himself caught between the Nazi ideals of strength and brutality and Albrecht's delicate and poetic nature. We know Friedrich to be a thoughtful and caring young man because in early familial scenes in the film he spends time nurturing his young brother (oddly, at bath time and bedtime). But we also see the influence of the Nazi mentality around him. Wonderfully and perhaps even realistically, this isn't so indicated so much by hate speech or by anger but as much by national pride and worship of the Aryan ideal. This is a well-written and intelligent piece and its subtlety is certainly its strongest point.

You could not find a young actor more typical of the Aryan ideal then Max Riemelt. He is stunningly handsome and his athletic looks beautiful in the sporting sequences. Riemelt is also one hell of an actor and his puppy dog eyes often convey as much or more than his dialogue does. Perhaps this is partially why the film is homoerotic, because we can see in his eyes his love and admiration for Tom Schilling's Albrecht. The two of them aren't lovers however. They are, in fact, nothing of the sort. A scene even shows us how much the two young men admire the body of a young woman. But it is their understanding of each other and their brotherly love for one and other that bond them. Perhaps in a different time and a different place the boys might have become young lovers but here they are simply friends... friends caught up in a situation not of their making. Friedrich may be strong and brave but it his heart and soul that separate him from the Nazis. He sees the weakness in the wounded soul of Albrecht and does not want to exploit him but instead wants to protect him. In the world of the Nazi's such loving and nurturing thoughts cannot exist.

Filmed beautifully and artistically, written wonderfully and enacted with all the nuances of the script fully intact by attractive young men, "Before the Fall" is a kind and thoughtful movie. It certainly doesn't hurt that many of the young men in the film are quite handsome and lovely to behold. That really has little to do with the film, however.

Notes:

In German with subtitles.

The film has been nominated for several awards and won many.

The film was first shown at a festival in the Czech Republic in July of 2004. The first German showing was in January 2005. The first U.S. showing was at a film festival in Cleveland in March of 2005 and Picture This! began an arthouse release in February of 2006.

Viewed at the Dobie in February of 2006.

Report Card

Script: A-

Acting: A-

Cinematography\Lighting: A-

Special Effects\Make Up: A-

Music: C

Final Grade: A-