Dawn of Evil: Rise of the Reich review (DVD) ★★★★

Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Tom Schilling, Gotz George, Wolf Bachofner,
Simori Schwarz, Karin Neuhauser, Anna Unterberge, Bernd Birkhahn | Written by George Tabori
UK Certification 18 | UK RRP £12.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 105 minutes | Directed by Urs Odermatt

Adapted from George Tabori's play Mein Kampf, Dawn of Evil: Rise of the Reich is a heavily fictitious alternative to the story of Adolf Hitler's youth. Based in part on the dictator's own infamous “autobiography”, the film depicts Hitler's days in Vienna as a hotheaded, impetuous young man and lays the foundations for his meteoric rise from pauper to Germany's genocidal leader.

Dawn of Evil paints Hitler (Schilling) as an aspiring artist who arrives in Vienna to join the Academy of Fine Arts, only for him to fail the entrance exam and be hailed as nothing more than a housepainter by the professor. Having been disillusioned by his grand dreams of becoming a world famous, masterful artist, he suddenly believes that the city's Jewish population are conspiring against Germans in a bid to oppress them. Growing increasingly angry and unsatisfied with the direction of his life, Hitler wrestles a rocky relationship with Schlomo Herzl, a haggard old Jewish man writing a book that the future Fuhrer himself gives the title of “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle) to. Schlomo takes him under his wing in an attempt to steer him onto the right track, but his efforts are only in vain as the fiery tearaway is continuously filled with envy and rage and he soon snaps.

In the beginning, the film actually manages to temporarily humanise Hitler, just until he finally loses it, which is no mean feat when you naturally go into it with a dislike for the man. He comes to Vienna a reserved and naïve young man with an unkempt moustache, and leaves as a volatile and violent puppet master with a defined political agenda and a ruthless band of thugs at his side. Of course, it is when he is the former that we can actually identity and understand him, but it's refreshing to see a multi-layered representation of the character rather than a generic symbol of evil: he is developed over time and so the film completely succeeds in its attempt to show the transition as he grows out of being a small fish in a big pond.

Apart from his quick temper, you wouldn't even assume Hitler to be Hitler as the film gets going. It's the fine details that we identify with the madman that slot in as it progresses and the character is sculpted, from his hairstyle and toothbrush moustache to the design of the Swastika and the moment he even contemplated pursuing politics.

But such an in-depth character could not be so three-dimensional without a great performance from its actor, and that is where the real stand-out of Dawn of Evil comes in: Tom Schilling. He is nothing short of electric in his portrayal, enhancing and embodying every part of the script that makes the character so unsettling and unpredictable. He is a joy to watch.

Dawn of Evil: Rise of the Reich is a superb drama, compelling throughout and darkly funny enough to make you question whether or not you should really be laughing at a film about Hitler.

EXTRAS None.

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