Downfall
(Sony Pictures)

Gray Matter
(Docurama)

Gunner Palace
(Palm)

Seen though the eyes of his secretary Traudl Junge, Downfall begins in 1942, as she and several other young women are brought before Hitler for a job interview. Abruptly skipping ahead three years, we are transported to Berlin and inside an underground bunker, where Hitler, the military high command and his closest allies lie trapped by the advancing Russian army that has surrounded the city. As artillery shells rain down on the city and dead soldiers and civilians line the streets, the Nazi leader appears to be insane, refusing the advice of his generals who realize that their hours are numbered, but who are torn between this reality and loyalty to their leader. As the film moves slowly towards its inevitable conclusion, one by one, the major players make their escape or commit suicide and in some cases, murder. This makes for a grim 2.5 hours, yet every minute is compelling, due to the quality of the acting and the taut screenplay. Ganz manages to depict Hitler as hideously evil, but also somewhat sympathetic, as his dreams of a new civilization quickly crumble and turn to dust.

Hitler’s evil agenda is the centerpiece of Gray Matter – a haunting documentary by Joe Berlinger who has previously examined the darker side of human nature in Brother’s Keeper, Paradise Lost and Metallica, Some Kind Of Monster. In 2002, he traveled to Vienna to watch the burial of the preserved brains of 700 children - victims of the Nazi eugenics program designed to purify the race and eliminate individuals whose genes were considered to be “defective.” These children ranged from developmentally disabled to mildly autistic and were murdered in a euthanasia clinic headed by one Dr. Heinrich Gross, nicknamed “The Austrian Dr. Mengele.” Berlinger surreptitiously gains access to the basement of the Spiegelgrund mental hospital where the brains are stored and discovers that testing continued until as late as 1998, raising some very disturbing questions. He’s thwarted in his search for Gross, but additional footage finds the doctor living in seclusion and fending off attempts to bring him to trial for the atrocities he committed.

Fast-forward to the present day and the war in Iraq. Director Michael Tucker spent two months in Baghdad with the 2/3 Field Artillery, living in one of the palaces (nicknamed “Gunner”) built by Sadaam Hussein, as a weekend party retreat for his son Uday. We meet many of the young soldiers as they stand in front of the camera and discuss their lives back home and their fears and feelings regarding their current tour of duty. Days consist of keeping peace in the streets, watching for roadside bombs, avoiding sniper fire and trying to stay out of harm’s way, as well as taking advantage of Uday’s swimming pool and putting green. Several soldiers are also aspiring rappers and perform several songs for the camera, a couple of which are actually pretty good. Tucker allows events to play out with a minimum of narrative, so the effect is akin to raw footage unfolding in a natural, linear fashion. As one might expect, the story does not have a happy ending, closing out with the death of several servicemen. Sadly, when it comes to movies based on our current conflict in the Middle East, Gunner Palace is just the tip of the iceberg. - David Bassin