KOCHI: Downfall is an Oscar nominated 2004 German / Austrian drama film. The film depicts the final twelve days of Adolf Hitler in his Berlin bunker and Nazi Germany in 1945. Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and written by Bernd Eichinger, the film is based on several books like Inside Hitler's Bunker by historian Joachim Fest.
In the last days of World War II in Europe, the Soviet Red Army is fighting its way into Berlin. Deep within his bunker Hitler's last birthday is celebrated and he lives out his final 10 days isolated from the world, ordering counter-attacks that will never happen, from armies that exist only on maps. Hitler (Bruno Ganz) is presented as he was in the last months of the war: a physically ill, exhausted man but dreaming still of a Greater Germany amid the ruins of war-ravaged Berlin.
Most of the events are depicted from the perspective of Hitler's young personal secretary Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara). On the day before his death Hitler marries his long-time mistress Eva Braun (Juliane Köhler) and they commit suicide together on April 30, 1945, ten days after Hitler's 56th birthday.
Director Hirschbiegel makes sure that this is more than simply a study of Hitler's final days, and he skillfully interweaves the pressured claustrophobia of the bunker with the helpless despair on the streets outside.
This is as much a movie about Berlin’s final days as Hitler’s, and the film eerily captures the air of insanity that haunts the city.
Photography contest
The Rashtriya Vigyan Evam Prodyogiki Sanchar Parishad (RVPSP) Dept of Science & Technology (DST) and Shri R Mehta Educational Trust (SRRMET) have announced India's 2nd national photographic contest - Light and Shades of Science.
The contest is India's only 'science photographic contest' which invites the large fraternity of photographers of this country, both professionals and amateurs, to capture images which stimulate the wonder and thrill of science and technology.
The basic premise is to create a synergy between an art form like photography and science.
The contest is divided into five categories: Science in action, Science Close-up, Science as Art, Concepts and Science and Society. Participants can send entries in all the categories.
A maximum of five images can be entered in each category.
The prizes are as follows for each category. First prize: Rs 25,000, Second prize: Rs 10,000, Third prize: Rs 5000. The last date for submitting the entries is June 9.
The entries should be sent to: Light and Shades of Science, R Mehta Educational Trust, C/O Red Roses Public School, D-Block, Saket, New Delhi-110017. Ph: 011-26537654, 9810586869.