Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (Sophie Scholl: Die letzten Tage)

Considered Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine, Sophie Scholl was all of 21 years old when the Germans executed her for treason in 1943. Her crime: distributing anti-Nazi leaflets at Munich University, where she and her brother Hans attended school. Based on Gestapo records of Sophie's interrogation and trial -- discovered in East German vaults after reunification -- the film is a straightforward, at times dry account of her ordeal (from her arrest to her execution six days later). Buoyed by her Protestant faith and by her conviction in the righteousness of her cause, Sophie gains inner strength as the days pass, a subtle transformation that actress Julia Jentsch manages to convey with the most nuanced facial and body movements. The film, nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, avoids even the hint of sentimentality. The fact this is a true story gives director Marc Rothemund's picture its tension and understated emotional power.