Friedrich Weimer (Max Riemelt) is a young Aryan with potential as a boxer, the son of a working-class, anti-Nazi German family. He receives an invitation to pass the admission tests in an elite Nazi school or "napola", which offers him the opportunity to train as a hopeful boxer and to have access to university studies. Friedrich ignores his father's refuses, goes to the school, passes the tests and enters the napola, where he is subjected to harsh physical, ethical and ideological training. Despite this premise that is so attractive and rarely addressed by German cinema, there is no surprise in this film, no tension or expectation, no mystery and much less poetry.
One senses what is going to happen, at least emotionally, and suspects that everything will turn into a tragic mess, but it gives the viewer little to think, deduce or learn. Angelo Badalamenti's syrupy music takes the film in unwelcome melodramatic directions, as the movie refuses to explore the motivations of its characters (especially those of the boxing teacher who helps Friedrich enter the napola) or develop the boy's character with more depth.
With its "zero degree" style, «Napola» could have been made in Hollywood without being very different from a film with Tom Cruise or Rob Lowe in their younger years. And that's why I think the applause of many viewers came from, who feel secure with a story they have seen many times, nothing to alter their notions of status quo, and all the ingredients to weep with the mishaps suffered by Friedrich and his rebellious friend Albrecht (Tom Schilling). For me, however, there are no inspired moments, just routine sequences, and several bad or tearful segments, performed by a cast of young and old actors who try but are often betrayed by the trite script. A pity.
One senses what is going to happen, at least emotionally, and suspects that everything will turn into a tragic mess, but it gives the viewer little to think, deduce or learn. Angelo Badalamenti's syrupy music takes the film in unwelcome melodramatic directions, as the movie refuses to explore the motivations of its characters (especially those of the boxing teacher who helps Friedrich enter the napola) or develop the boy's character with more depth.
With its "zero degree" style, «Napola» could have been made in Hollywood without being very different from a film with Tom Cruise or Rob Lowe in their younger years. And that's why I think the applause of many viewers came from, who feel secure with a story they have seen many times, nothing to alter their notions of status quo, and all the ingredients to weep with the mishaps suffered by Friedrich and his rebellious friend Albrecht (Tom Schilling). For me, however, there are no inspired moments, just routine sequences, and several bad or tearful segments, performed by a cast of young and old actors who try but are often betrayed by the trite script. A pity.