Before the Fall is a 2004 German drama film

Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 written and directed by Dennis Gansel

Dennis Gansel

Dennis Gansel is a film director, writer and actor from Germany.-Movie career:Gansel is best known for directing The Wave; his following project is the vampire film We Are The Night, which stars Karoline Herfurth, Nina Hoss, Jennifer Ulrich, Anna Fischer and Max Riemelt.- Filmography :* 1999 — Das...

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Plot

In 1942, Friedrich Weimer's (Max Riemelt

Max Riemelt

Max Riemelt is a German actor born in Berlin in 1984 . He says "it was more by coincidence because I hadn't really thought about getting involved in acting and hadn't joined any drama groups at school"....

) boxing skills get him an appointment to a National Political Academy

National Political Institutes of Education

National Political Institutes of Education were secondary boarding schools in Nazi Germany. They were founded as "community education sites" after the National Socialist seizure of power in 1933.-Overview:...

 (NaPolA) - high schools that produce Nazi elite. Against his father's will, he enrolls, seeing this as his ticket out of his factory life to the university. During his year in seventh column (fifth form), this innocence is altered as Friedrich encounters hazing, cruelty, death, and the Nazi code.

Cast

• Max Riemelt
  Max Riemelt
  Max Riemelt is a German actor born in Berlin in 1984 . He says "it was more by coincidence because I hadn't really thought about getting involved in acting and hadn't joined any drama groups at school"....
  
   as Friedrich Weimer
• Tom Schilling
  Tom Schilling
  Tom Schilling is a German television and film actor.Schilling had his acting debut in the 1996 drama Hallo, Onkel Doc! as a boy named Mark. In the critically well-received film Before the Fall , he played a young student in one of the elite 'Napola' schools, alongside with Max Riemelt...
  
   as Albrecht Stein
• Jonas Jägermeyr as Christoph Schneider
• Leon Alexander Kersten as Tjaden
• Thomas Drechsel
  Thomas Drechsel
  Thomas Drechsel is a German actor.Drechsel is best known for his portrayal of Max "Tuner" Krüger in the German soap Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten.- Television :* 2008: Anna und die Liebe* 2009: Polizeiruf 110...
  
   as Hefe
• Martin Goeres
  Martin Goeres
  -Biography:Born in West Berlin, Goeres started his acting career at the age of 10. Staying in the business throughout his youth, he decided to pursue a career as a stuntman due to his martial arts and fighting skills. Co-founding the 'Perfect Action Stunt Team' also led him to work behind the...
  
   as Siegfried 'Siggi' Gladen
• Florian Stetter as Justus von Jaucher
• Devid Striesow
  Devid Striesow
  Devid Striesow is a German actor. He starred as "Sturmbannführer Herzog" in Stefan Ruzowitzky's 2007 film The Counterfeiters, which was awarded the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for that year.-External links:...
  
   as Heinrich Vogler
• Joachim Bissmeier as Dr. Karl Klein 'Karl der Große' / Anstaltsleiter
• Michael Schenk as Josef Peiner 'Peiniger' / Sportlehrer
• Justus von Dohnanyi
  Justus von Dohnányi
  Justus von Dohnányi is a German actor. His father is the German conductor, Christoph von Dohnányi and his grandfather was the German jurist and member of the German resistance, Hans von Dohnanyi.-Biographical details:...
  
   as Gauleiter Heinrich Stein
• Claudia Michelsen as Frau Stein
• Julie Engelbrecht as Katharina
• Johannes Zirner as Torben Send

Production

The castle that houses the fictitious Napola Allenstein in the film is Bouzov Castle

Bouzov Castle

Bouzov Castle is an early 14th-century fortress first mentioned in 1317. It was built on a hill between the village of Hvozdek and the town of Bouzov, 21 km west of Litovel and 28 km northwest of Olomouc, in Moravia, Czech Republic...

 http://www.volny.cz/sdh_bouzov/ in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

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Reception

Before the Fall received mixed to positive reviews; it currently holds a 68% 'fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

, the consensus states "Despite a degree of predictability and cliches, the high production values and sincere performances by the leads elevate this coming-of-age story set in Nazi Germany."

Accolades

• Best Direction, Bavarian Film Awards, 2005
• Best international film, Hamptons International Film Festival
  Hamptons International Film Festival
  Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to provide a forum for independent filmmakers from around the world to express their vision. The Festival is traditionally held for five days in mid-October in theatre venues from Montauk to Southampton and attracts roughly 15,000 visitors annually...
  
  , 2004
• Best Actor, Max Riemelt
  Max Riemelt
  Max Riemelt is a German actor born in Berlin in 1984 . He says "it was more by coincidence because I hadn't really thought about getting involved in acting and hadn't joined any drama groups at school"....
  
  , Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
  Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
  The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary , Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival gained worldwide recognition over the past years and has become one of Europe's major film events....
  
  , 2004
• Best film, Viareggio EuropaCinema, 2004