First of all, I plan to buy this DVD and make my children view it once a year. I don’t think that will be hard. Even though they could not keep up with the subtitles, both my boys stayed riveted to the very end.

What makes this movie a stand out is that we have a human portrayal of courage in the face of fear. While everyone rightfully raves about the actress, who is amazing, everyone involved in the concept of this movie deserves some heavy credit for not glamorizing anything about this event and yet somehow portraying breath-taking heroism. I have no idea how many of the details are accurate, but they were all portrayed in an utterly believable way.

There will be spoilers below, though I don’t think the movie depends on ignorance of the story to be enjoyed. If at this point you have no plans to see the movie, go ahead and give me a chance to change your mind.

Let me admit upfront that my inner right-wing extremist really liked some things about the movie. Since it has garnered high praise from various leftists I think I can safely say these weren’t so strong as to spoil the movie for anyone on the other side of the aisle. So don’t let my repulsive basking turn you off from seeing it.

• The word Nazi was never used (Calvin says I’m wrong; that it was used once or twice–but that is my point, you have to really dig to remember it). “National Socialist” was the term for the ruling party and it was the one they used over and over and over again. “National Socialist” “National Socialist” “National Socialist” The Nazis were leftists, folks. Deal with it.
• The used the guillotine for executions. I may be wrong but I am fairly certain this was a National Socialist innovation in Germany. And why not? The National Socialists wanted to demonstrate who their forbears were: the killers of the French Revolution where the machine was invented. (Actually, though, in France it became too time-consuming to execute one at a time so they began using barges filled with people and sinking them in large bodies of water.)
• Eugenics, not only for ethnic cleansing but for weeding out the undesirables among the master race. Gassing retarded children: Sophie knew about it and said so. Too bad the writings of the White Rose on abortion were never mentioned.
• The hand that feeds expects to call the tune. Constantly the accused were berated for being benefited by the National Socialist regime and then using these “gifts” in an unfaithful way by turning on the government that gave them such great gifts. Not once did I see any of the accused even bother to acknowledge that anyone had made this accusation (other viewers: am I forgetting something?). It was baseless, of course. The Nazis had control of all education. People pursuing education had as much for which to blame them as to thank them.

Other things that I liked.

• In line with “not glamorizing” above, the movie showed a series of bad decisions that ended in their arrest. They took a great risk, assuring their partners that, if caught, the punishment would fall on them alone. They had no way of containing the damage of the investigation. Furthermore, in the midst of their operation they took even more risks that got them caught. Nor was Hans really planning on how to control damage if he were caught. He had evidence on him that doomed him. Furthermore, his and Sophie’s faith in a “student revolt” was so naive. None of this was sugar-coated. And none of it decrease my awe and admiration for this brother and sister. It simply assured me that such people really did exist as human beings.
• The movie made no bones about highlighting that you never make a stand until you have really been caught. I was expecting an arrest and a stirring trial. I was not expecting the cat-and-mouse game between Sophie and her interrogator as she insisted she was apolitical and had not been the one distributing the forbidden pages. No matter how overwhelming it seemed or how doomed her increasingly complex re-interpretations of the evidence, she never wavered.
• The movie also made it clear that, in many case, better a live dog than a dead lion. There ended with three on trial Hans and Sophie Scholl who had three children and a sick wife from the last childbirth. He pleaded he was suffering from depression and the Scholls both corroborated his story. He should never have been involved. Spreading rebellion is work best done by childless single young people.
• Yet there are limits. I was shocked when the vile judge ranting an Hans suddenly blamed him for roping his sister into his crimes. He was a thoroughly evil character yet, in that instant, I suddenly realized he may have wanted to save Sophie (albeit for a life in a labor camp). Sophie had a choice as to whether to let that happen.

Well, I could write a great deal more but I will stop there. Utimately, I am writing about the movie because I don’t remember ever seeing a better portrayal of courage and conviction. It is simply a superior movie.