1 The things we do for love
This German movie may have elements that Americans miss, but the underlying story is universal -- what a young man who loves his mother will do. The film is set in East Berlin and begins right before the reunification (the destruction of the Berlin Wall). The young man (Alex) has a mother who is a faithful Communist Party member who was abandoned by their father, who left for the West. After she has a heart attack that leaves her in a coma for months before finally regaining consciousness, he wants to take her home to care of her. The doctors warn him that any shock could kill her, and he thinks that hearing about the collapse of communism in Germany might do it. So he brings her home and sets about creating an environment for her in which East and West Germany are still separate. Even though she's bedridden, it's not easy. He insists that the radio is broken but she wants to watch TV, so he has to create news broadcasts for her to go in with the videotapes they are using to simulate television. She wants her favorite brand of East German pickles -- no longer available. He jumps through all kinds of hoops keeping up this charade despite the pleas of his sister and his girlfriend to tell his mother the truth.
Obviously a lot of this movie is about the politics of Germany -- and it raises some questions about what constitutes the good life. Is it free access to Coca-Cola or is a less stressful life better?
My only criticism would be that the movie is perhaps a bit long. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
2 "Tear down this Wall"?
Who would have thought that not long after Ronald Reagan uttered those confrontational words, that the Berlin Wall would be breeched. Many thought Mr. Reagan hopelessly naive for even questioning the status quo with regard to Berlin, but down it came, showing us once again how history sometimes is less evolutionary than subject to punctuated equilibrium. Think of geological plate tectonics---ie., earthquakes & volcanoes. The Berlin Wall was an anachronism (likewise the division of Germany). We---in the West, at least---knew it had to eventually come down, but never expected it to do so until it did. "Goodbye, Lenin" doesn't address whether east Germans believed similarly or not, but it is grounded in the abruptness with which the Berlin Wall did fall. And it captures the essence of such most effectively, and does so in such a unique manner. Most of the film takes place AFTER the Berlin Wall has been breeched, but---at one and the same time---the story ingeniously provides us, ie., the viewers, a window into the east BEFORE this dramatic development. Mind you, save for one exception, it doesn't concern itself with the dark side of the German "Democratic" Republic, ie., secret police activities, informers within society, and the like. (If you are interested in such, have a look at Timothy Garton Ash's book, "The File." It's about how the Stasi security services kept tabs on this British journalist, as well as on millions of its own citizens.) "Goodbye Lenin," nonetheless, does give one a taste of East Berlin and that it does so in such a whimsical way makes for an entertaining film (the details of which I assume you have already familiarized yourself with above.) In addition, the acting herein is more than above average, and the direction is most able--in particular, a scene of a moving Lenin statue is accomplished with great effect; and is, to boot, hilarious. (If you think Reagan was the incarnation of the devil & simply wish to register that view---although it has nothing to do with this film---then go ahead and ignore this well made film; otherwise do have a look at this film & do listen to the director's commentary on this DVD as well. It will clue you in to a lot---after watching this film---that you didn't even know you missed, but did!) This is a 3 1/2 star film, but because of its historical interest, I'm rounding it up to 4 Stars. (04oct) Cheers!
3 An Enjoyable and Original Film
GOODBYE, LENIN! is an enjoyable and original film. It is a blend of both comedy and drama. The plot of the film is simple enough. It is told through the perspective of Alex Kerner (played by Daniel Bruhn) who tells the story of his mother (Kathryn Sass), a loyal member of the Communist party who is abandoned by her husband and has to raise her children alone. The mother has had some difficulties in the past and the children become very protective of her, especially Alex. Like many young people, Alex is involved in protests against the oppressive East German regime and when his mother witnesses his arrest, she has a heart attack and is comatose for eight months. She misses the major historic upheavals, including the fall of the Berlin Wall. When she awakens, her doctor recommends a no stress lifestyle and her children decide that the best way for this to happen is to make it as if the Berlin Wall never fell, and try to create a mini communist nation in the family's apartment. The antics of Alex provide for humorous situations. He quickly becomes westernized but reverts to former ways when he is at home. He and a friend devise ways to rebroadcast old news stories and slowly brace the mother for the changes. While clever humor is found throughout the film, it never becomes silly, a credit to skillful writing. We also see the bonds of love between the Kerner family, particularly mother and son, and get a glimpse of the heart wrenching decisions people had to make during the bleak years of Communist rule in a divided Germany.
Critics can say that the film is implausible at best, yet the combination of the acting and writing, as well as the lighting and atmosphere of the film make it entirely believable. It also gives us an appreciation of just how life changing the fall of the wall was, and hwo different the world has become in a short time.
4 Ludicrous, but good
For months I avoided this film, skeptical about the plot, which seemed a real stretch. Having been burned a hundred times by over-effusive critics, I ignored the favorable blurbs quoted on the cover. Then one day my father-in-law mentioned that he liked it, and I relented.
To my surprise, I enjoyed this little film, which gives a taste of life in Communist East Germany before the Wall went down. I got the impression that the Mother was on to her son at some point, but kept playing along just to please him.
This is a watch-once type of thing, worth a rental or even a purchase if cheap.
5 nostalgia
as a kid growing up in a socialist country we were taught that this was the ideal way of life, that this is how it is suposed to be. we were taught that the west was something to be mistrusted, but we all secretly wanted to be part of it. when i saw the east german cartoons, my eyes flooded with tears. they were simple, shabily done and had one message, the propoganda of socialism/commnism. what a stark difference it was when i saw disney cartoons, the technology was so much more complex, the plot was more comlex, so much far ahead than the cartoon celebrating Gagarin. to those who havent had the chance to live in a "COMMIE" country thinks it was all about oppression, but somehow in all that imposed suffering there seemed to be a feeling of security, of calm. when the berlin wall came down, and soon after the entire eastern bloc people were (are in some areas) forced to deal with the confusion, with the final realization that the west has finally come. i think that this movie illustrates this point very well. even though the satelite tv has come in and western food has now invaded the formerly barren shelves of markets there still lies and underlying feeling of regret of having let the feeling of peace go.
6 As fine as a dish of Globus peas
"Godbye Lenin" was one of the best foreign films released in 2004, which combined a love story and farce against the backdrop of the last days of the German Democratic Republic. The plot is ingenious: to prevent his frail mother, a mid-level loyal appratchika, from suffering a second and fatal heart attack, her son must create a historical "bubble" in her appartment to keep her convinced that the Communist regime is alive and well, and the universe has not changed.
The fantasy world created by her son reflects the actual paper-mache universe that was East Germany. The Wall must stay up; dumpsters must be scoured for old food cans with the right labels, and mediocre laminate furniture recovered. His job is made more difficult as the real world and its billboards inevitably intrude, to which he and a friend respond by taping fake talking-head broadcasts which look like the real dull as bricks productions. I had always suspected that Coca Cola was invented in the GDR and stolen by the West....
Some have unfairly criticised this movie by being too "soft" on the East German regime, and in its sympathetic portrayal of the mother as a loyal adherent to the system. That was not the point of this movie. Waking up on a November 2000 morning to find that Bush, and not Gore, was declared president was significant enough; the millions who saw the Wall collapse and have their entire society change must have been thousands of times more traumatic. Many, many people who were not ideologues still had a stake in the old system, such as university professors, teachers, and factory workers. Their world, like that of the East German astronaut, was turned upside down without any fault of their own. This film succeeds in describing this trauma in a gentle and thoughtful way.
7 It was a really hot October. At the time.
Good bye, Lenin! is a heartwarming tale of a boy's devotion for his mother and the lengths he will go to for her health. As Alex Kerner, Daniel Bruhl is excellent, and he is well supported by an equally strong cast of Germans. During the entire feature, I found myself following everyone's efforts to keep Alex's mother out of the loop and the ultimate events that turned Alex's life upside down. Good bye Lenin! is also beautiful because it reminds us of the lack of wealth that plaques Eastern Germany. Alex's sister leaving college to work at McDonalds demonstrates sadly this to a degree, but most it is closer revealed when Alex finds his mother's "hidden stash" of cash that is worthless because he did not get it to the exchange commission in time. The look of frustration on Alex's face as he realizes the irrelevance of the extinct currency is painful to view, simply because it reminds us that in every major change in the world, there are always those that are left behind and those that suffer because of this evolution.
Good bye, Lenin! is a beautiful masterpiece. The power of the characters coupled with the amazing direction of Wolfgang Beckner will fill your hearts with a love for your family and a passion for your nation.
Grade: **** out of *****
8 How about Good bye, Hitler?
I watched the movie, I laughed at the jokes, I understand the plot but I simply cannot accept this movie as a defence-in-disguise of a regime that was positively criminal in nature. The mother in this movie is a diehard Communist-by-conviction. She is consistently portrayed as a good, idealistic Commie who had been let down by those evil power-hungry Commies - the subtle punchline being that Communist ideals are OK whereas the Cold War implementation in the Eastern Bloc was bad. Having lived on the wrong side of the Iron curtain for some time, I personally think that it was not just the implementation but that the Communist ideals are inherently flawed.
As the title of my review points out, most intelligent people would not accept a similar movie made on the basis of any other inhuman regime of the present or the past. Imagine a plot where a German Frau falls in a coma in March 1945, wakes up a few months later and her kids put up a show pretending the Fuhrer is still in charge. That would not be a great movie, it would be a scandal. And don't even get me started on Good bye, Jefferson Davis.
Look, the movie is entertaining, it is reasonably well done and it may even be educational for those who want to learn about the moods and public opinion in Germany around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall. But I cannot accept as great work of art something that makes the point of (even indirectly) defending oppression, inhumanity and intolerance. Hence 2 stars.
9 Delightful, Insightful Movie!
"Goodbye, Lenin" provides not only an entertaining story, but a glimpse into East Germany as it existed prior to unification. The premise is straightforward: a woman slips into a coma a few days before the Berlin Wall comes down. We find out that she is a committed socialist who'd thrown herself into party work years before, after her husband had escaped to the West. While she is unconscious, everything changes, and changes rapidly. We see through the eyes of her son, Alex, the new possibilities open to East Germans as they are free to travel and have access to consumer goods. When Alex's mother wakes up, Alex is told that she must not be exposed to any shock. Thus, he re-creates in their apartment East Germany as it existed until a few months before -- complete with created "news" programs played on a secret VCR, "Young Pioneers" serenading her on her birthday, East German interior design, and inferior products no longer available in supermarkets.
Keeping this up, however, takes a lot of work and a lot of ever-more-complicated lies. (O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!) As Alex continues this venture, he is drawn further and further into the socialist dream held by his mother. While the film has been criticized for not showing the darker side of East German life, the bad is not ignored entirely: the Stasi make a brief appearance; the reasons for Alex's father's escape to the West are revealed; the circumstances surrounding mother's job are revealed; the shoddy construction of the apartment is apparent. The point, though, is that Alex is constructing a fantasy world that is built on a lie. And indeed, East Germany itself was built on a communist fantasy that was never realized.
The film also provides a taste of the shock that all East Germans must have experienced as they moved abruptly from a socialist state to a free-market economy and, in less than one year, were unified with their former Cold War enemy. The story is well-told and well-acted. It is funny, poignant, and thought-provoking. The ending is moving. "Goodbye, Lenin" is an excellent film worth its five-star rating.
10 mother's coma
In its seriousness mother's coma matches the tearing down of the Berlin wall, this movie's other main event from 1989. And that's really all what is serious about 'Goodbye Lenin'.
Coma & td are embedded in a lovely light, original and humorous story. Greatly catching former East Germany's Communist spirit and its aftermath, without ever being superficial. Always well acted out. 'Goodbye Lenin' is great, although knowledge about Germany and its history seems to be a condition for appreciating.
11 The best (and only) German movie I've ever seen
If you've ever had a burning desire to see a German-language comedy centering around the collapse of communism in the Eastern Bloc, Good Bye, Lenin just may be the answer to your prayers. This is one of those rare movies that succeed on all levels, as it's hilarious at some points and genuinely effecting at others, all incorporated into some of the most important historical events of our time. Director Wolfgang Becker pulls off this deceptively difficult trick with an effortless charm that's hard to find on either side of the Atlantic, as he does little more than examine the reactions of ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances. It's hard to think of a movie I've seen lately that's brought together as many disparate elements as seamlessly as this one.
While Good Bye, Lenin is somewhat of a one-joke movie, that joke is far funnier and more original than just about anything else you'll see these days. When Alex Kerner's mother sees him being taken off by cops during a protest in the final days of East Germany, she promptly has a heart attack and goes into an eight-month coma. By the time she awakes Germany is one country again and loads of new consumer goods are flooding the East. Normally one would have a hard time figuring out what the problem is with a flood of cheap new goods (there's even more than one brand of pickles now), but since Alex's mother has been devoted to the socialist state ever since her husband headed west and never came back, Alex fears that the shock of this brave new world could bring on another attack. Since this next attack could finish her for good, Alex goes to every length imaginable to hide the truth from his bedridden mother, which isn't easy as the former East Germany has suddenly become a much more colorful place. Not to mention, his sister Ariane, a single mother who's given up her studies for a position at a brand-new Burger King, isn't always on board with the plan. Alex's devotion is certainly heartwarming, but it's also extremely stubborn and a bit crazy, and the unusual nature of Alex's commitment is the basis for much of the movie's humor.
This ingenious plot device paves the way for what's easily one of the most intelligent and insightful movies to come along in a while. There are plenty of laughs to be had as Alex's put-on becomes ever more elaborate, but the movie also has a lot to say about the way people deal with change, especially since change effects different people in different ways. By focusing in on one family's undoubtedly unique experiences during this tumultuous period, Good Bye, Lenin provides insight into the colossal shock of communism's collapse at the same time as it gives the whole event a human dimension. It's this combination of historical scope (even in dealing with events that happened a mere 15 years ago) and minute detail that makes this such an intriguing movie. Becker's directon is constantly shifting tone from lighthearted to deadly serious, but it never stops focusing on the heavy emotional stakes involved in trying to maintain an entire vision of the world that no longer exists. Good Bye, Lenin isn't just a period piece, or a family drama, or a comedy; it's all of the above wrapped into one. And it doesn't hurt that the Russian nurse who becomes Alex's love interest is just about the hottest woman alive.
Anyway, as capitalism continues making inroads and it becomes increasingly tough for Alex to hide the truth from his mother, he finds himself forced to construct a whole alternate reality, complete with fabricated newscasts explaining why there are so many Coke signs and westerners in "East Germany" now. And the more Alex manipulates reality, the more attached he grows to the idealized notions that socialism represented. The real East Germany may have been a dull, drab place, but the East Germany Alex creates for his mother is a paragon of community and opportunity, a place where people will eventually come searching for a more meaningful life. Since communism was always more about idealism than realism anyway, it's not too hard for Alex to deceive his mother about the collapse of her beloved State. He just shows her what she wants to see.
Although I can't give it away, even the ending to this movie is surprisingly satisfying, even if it is a bit too sympathetic to socialism for this libertarian's taste. It's not quite what you might be given to expect, but since Good Bye, Lenin is one decidedly unconventional movie maybe that's as it should be. At any rate, if you're outgrowing Adam Sandler movies but you're not quite pretentious enough for the indie scene, Good Bye, Lenin is more than worth the two hours of your time. While it doesn't contain the level of action I often like to see in a movie, it's more than impressive enough to get by without it.
12 Beatiful, refreshing
This film is about a young man, who has been raised in East Germany by a mohter who belives in the sistem. She has a heart attack and falls in coma after sees his him in a protest. As all the reviews say, while she is in coma there happens a lot of things, between them, the wall falls. After she awakens, hi tries to make her belive the communist sistem is still there, for the doctor has said she wouldn`t stand another heart attack.
This film is a funny commedy, not a slow one, as someone said in another review. Didn't seem to me, at last. Didn't notice the two hours. It is, of course, a different sort of film, in everything, and that`s what is refreshing about it. That`s probably because is a german film. And this very important part of History is told from the point of view of germans. From the point of view of people who lived it. And of common people. The fact that the main theme is the love of this man for his mother, and not romance (that is present also), as in most films, makes it different too, in a good way.
It is a lovely film, with lovely characters. The main one, specially, anyone will fall in love with him.
I really recommend it.
13 Lies: damned lies, sweet lies
"Goodbye Lenin" chronicles the life of an East Berlin family in the days just before and just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Socialism had become a dead force in the lives of many, except for those who used it to salve the pain of lost loves and missed opportunities. Mother Katrin Sass suffers a heart attack during a demonstration and goes into a coma for 8 months. During that time, the Wall falls and East Germany begins its transformation from dull, gray socialism to loud, rainbow-hued capitalism. Fearing another and fatal attack, children Alex (Daniel Bruhl) and Ariane (Maria Simon) with the help of a video wiz friend concoct a plan to convince their mother that her beloved socialist republic still lives.
The trailers for this movie focused on its comical aspects, but there was much more here a few laughs. "Goodbye Lenin" is about devotion to parents; about facing (or hiding from) the uprooting of one's system of meaning; of healing the wounds of separated families; of the pain of losing one's "permanent" social status. But mainly, the film ponders the cost of lies in society -- the political lies that keep populations placid and the lies that preserve a loved one's dignity. And it has many, many sweet, human and funny moments.
14 Entertaining, smart, sweet: highly recommended
'Goodbye, Lenin!' is wonderful social satire and refreshingly unique, telling a story of a woman, Christiane (Katrin Sa§), who loses her husband to adultery and politics, finds solace in her East German party, but collapses into a coma mid-heart attack after seeing her son attacked by East German troops amidst a demonstration gone wrong. The bulk of the film centers around not the mother, but her son Alex (played compellingly by Daniel BrŸhl). It is the year 1989, and throughout his mother's coma he has seen her life collapse into West Germany as the Wall falls and capitalism takes over. In an endearingly witty sequence, we also see him transform into a loving, mature man as he takes care of her and falls in love with her nurse. When his mother wakes, the doctors inform him of her weak heart: she must not be distressed or excited, lest she have another heart attack, this time fatal. He fears the changes may dangerously provoke her, so he takes her home, hides her from the world, and goes the extra mile to turn their apartment (and her old friends) back in time to East Germany before the fall of Communism. This is an interesting premise, and thanks to fine writing, acting, and direction, the gimmick does not get old, but only more interesting. And though it loses its focus toward the very end and begins to stretch further than it needs to, the film as a whole is so thoughtfully made that its end does not become less moving as a result, but remains memorable and innovative, much like its first two thirds.
15 Best Film of 2004!
Finally, a film that satisfied a lifelong curiosity I've had for people my age who lived on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Since elementary school, I always wondered what it was like for kids like me who were unfortunate to be born in the Soviet Union or East Germany, two of the harshest communist states. This curiosity led to my checking out books on the topic and reading about it, and being called a "commie" by my fellow Americans, as if curiosity about someone our government tells us is "our enemy" makes me one of them!
I was thrilled when I read a movie like this had come out, showing life in the last days of East Germany and the euphoria of a new world opening up for people who pretty much lived in a prison all their lives. Of course, the initial rush of euphoria in newfound freedom left a harsh wake up call as differences in work ethics, standards of living, and cultural references became more and more apparent after reunification of the two Germanys. In personal terms, think of what it would be like if separated twins discovered each other late in life...one a Wall Street stockbroker, the other a trailer park living low wage slave. A clash in more ways than one, right?
The performances of Daniel Bruhl as the idealistic son and of Katrin Sass as the mother who always believed in Marxism, both performances really stand out and are Oscar-worthy. The lengths the son goes to, to prevent his mother from falling into another coma over the shock of the demise of East Germany provides much of the humor. My favorite scene is when the mother, tired of being cooped up in the bedroom, decides to go for a walk outside and its like walking through Wonderland for her. The look of complete bafflement on her face as she watches a statue of Lenin fly through the air, in a salutatory departure, is pure joy to watch. Just her look alone perfectly conveys the confusion of a world being turned upside down.
This film addresses the issue of "Ostalgie" that has gripped some former East Germans in the late 1990s as they have found that the materialism of the West hasn't replaced a sense of community for them. Under the iron fisted rule of Honecker, they might not have had much, but they suffered together and had a genuine sense of community...although any one of their neighbors could have turned them in to the state for any number of "violations." Watching this film, one can see the draw of culture on a person and the void left behind when the culture is stripped away or proven false. Does longing for the familiar products of one's youth actually mean a desire to return to the way things were? I don't think so...but culture is something we'll always carry with us. It's who we are.
The brilliance of this film for me, is that we get to look at East Germans as people with no control over their form of government. In America, we were taught that the Russians and Eastern Europeans were our "enemies" and a lot of people bought into it. But in reality, they are people just like us. People who believe their government over a foreign government they're not familiar with. Are we any different? I like that this film shows an idealistic young East German and his yearning for freedom, idolizing a Cosmonaut, and who loves his mother so much that he dares not tell her the truth about what happened to their country since she fell into and out of a coma. This deception strains his relations with his sister, but provides much humorous situations before reaching a satisfying conclusion. I have no complaints about this film. It's flawless and brilliant. The acting and humor are first rate and Oscar-worthy. I would rate "Goodbye Lenin!" as the best film I've seen so far in 2004.
16 clever and amusing social satire
Just as Rip Van Winkle slept through the American Revolution and woke up twenty years later to find himself a citizen of a brand new country, so Kathrin Sass, an East German woman, slips into a coma on the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall only to wake up eight months later a member of a capitalist society. This is the premise of "Good Bye Lenin," a clever and affectionate tale about truth, love and family ties that transcends all national borders and boundaries.
Kathrin, a woman who has dedicated her life to the perpetuation of Communist Party ideology, suffers a major heart attack that plunges her into a comatose state a few months prior to the dissolution of the land she knows as East Germany. While she is "asleep," governments tumble, barriers crumble and a whole new tide of Western goods and values comes flooding eastwards to a ravenous, eagerly awaiting public. Then she wakes up. Fearing that the shock of finding such a radically changed world will lead to a second heart attack, her loving son, Alex, devises an elaborate scheme to shield her from the truth and to make her believe that the world she lives in now is the same world she knew eight months before (the basic premise is not that different from the one in "Jacob the Liar").
"Good Bye Lenin!" is an amusing regional comedy that derives its laughs from two basic sources: the near-slapstick nature of the charade Alex is attempting to perpetrate, and the script's satirical view of a society rushing madly to embrace the joys of unbridled consumerism they have been so long denied. Given its gimmicky premise, "Good Bye Lenin!" could have emerged as a one-joke comedy were it not for the fine sense of irony and absurdity that writer/director Wolfgang Becker (working with co-writer Bernd Lichtenberg) has brought to the project. In addition, young Daniel Bruhl as Alex and Katrin Sab as Kathrin deliver expert, moving performances that go to the very essence of the mother/child relationship.
I must confess that this film, despite its generally upbeat tone, brings with it a certain rueful sadness that the filmmakers may not exactly have intended. Could it really have been a mere fifteen years ago that the events depicted in this film actually happened - a mere fifteen years ago that the future of the human race seemed so full of joy, hope and promise? Now, in a post 9/11 world - where sectarian hatred and international terrorism rule the day - this image of people coming together to cast off the shackles of bondage and embrace freedom seems already like a quaint memory from the long distant past. In a strange way, the film has become something of a relic in its own time, outstripped by a world that has long since moved on to bigger and more dire concerns. "Good Bye Lenin" reminds of just how long ago and far away the Cold War really was.
17 From Communism to Capitalism in East Germany
This 2003 German import has an intriguing story line. It's set in East Berlin in 1990, at the time of the fall of the Berlin wall. A young man and his sister have been raised by their mother who truly believes in the socialist ideal. She has a heart attack and is in a coma for 8 months. When she awakes, the world has changed. Her beloved East Germany is no more and there is a rapid influx of western influences. However, since the doctors say that the mother has to remain calm, the brother and sister decide to make believe that these changes didn't happen. And, along with a friend who makes videotapes, they contrive to keep the mother believing that nothing has changed.
This is an allegory, of course. And at first it seems very funny. But the film is a full two hours long, and the joke soon fades. I found myself looking at the clock and wishing the story would move faster. Soon it all turns into a soap opera. Even when the mother tells a long, suppressed truth of her own, the deception never ceases. The acting was good and I liked the theme though. And I also liked being picked up and put down in the middle of an historic year in this very special place. I learned a bit about socialism and the way of life under that regime. In that sense I did enjoy the film.
There was a good extra on the DVD too, in which the filmmakers very carefully explained all the technical effects. As the film was recently shot, they had had to use computer animation to make it look like 1990. And they had to introduce a computer-animated version of a helicopter carrying a statue of Lenin and make it seem real. I was fascinated, as I never quite understood the challenges of making this happen.
This is not a film for everybody. But if you have an interest in modern history and don't mind a slow-paced and repetitive film with an interesting viewpoint about the world, you might just enjoy it.
18 COCA-COLA WORLD
It was enlightening to see East Germany before the Berlin Wall came down depicted as a modest patriotic country in this warm amusing tale of a young man who goes to great lenghts to shield his mother from the unification of Germany. The already contrived comedic situatiion gets bogged down in the second half with the mother slipping in and out of comas and hospitals, her character becomes the picture of tragic consequences and robs the film of it's gentle light-heartedness. There is also a bit of clumsiness in the young man's infatuation with his long gone father and an East German astronaut, who apparently served as a father figure. The two characters look alike and, as shadows from the past, are seen as the same, lending a bit of confusion. Daniel Bruhl as the young man carries this film single-handedly with his undaunted determination to protect his mother but even his dynamic presence becomes a wee tiresome as his mother succumbs to illness. It seems this tragic angle doesn't absorb well into the hopeful texture of the film.
19 HEARTWARMING WHAT-IF TALE OF COMING TO TERMS
Goodbye Lenin takes a sliver of recent history (reunification of Germany) and weaves it into a tender, bittersweet tale of farce and romance. Presenting a world that no longer exists is hard enough, but making it convincing to the viewer with gentle hints of humour requires a stroke of genius.
We may not know of the precise nostalgia felt by East Germans when the products they grew up with were replaced by spiffy modern imports from adjoining nations. But these moments are so beautifully handled, and the son's alternative approaches so cutely frantic, that we cannot avoid relating to similar emotions from our own contexts.
The film goes on for a bit in the middle with goofy antics and knowing jokes, but it is richly textured in its nods towards other directors like Fellini and Kubrick.
Don't let subtitles put you off from seeing this heart-breaking yet oddly comforting film. One of the best movies I've seen in 2004!
20 Brilliant Utopian Vision for Mother...
The young man, Alex (Daniel Bruhl), is being brutally arrested by the police in DDR days before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The mother Christiane (Katrin Sass), who is heavily involved in the political party, witnesses the arrest of her son, which leads to her having a severe heart attack and coma. When Alex is released from prison and finds out that his mother is in a coma and while she is in this coma the Berlin Wall falls. Germany unites at the same time as Coca Cola, MacDonalds, and other western multinational companies enter the former DDR. It is a tough time for the people of the former DDR as they are forced into deflation of currency, unemployment, and poverty. The world as Alex's mother once knew is suddenly gone when she miraculously awakened from her coma. An unqualified doctor that has remained within the former DDR informs Alex that his mother could die from sudden shock.
The mothers condition leads the film into a comical, yet serious roller coaster where good intentions, fear, and love drive Alex's decisions. The decisions that Alex makes brings to the film a nostalgia of the former DDR's good intentions in politics as well as Alex's own vision of utopia. The utopia that Alex creates is based on equality, fairness, and goodness without Stasi, the former secret police in DDR that functioned by having one informant per 100 citizens. Alex even fabricates the idea that Coca Cola is an invention by the DDR in order to protect his mother's health.
Good Bye Lenin! is a warm film with the notion of a better world projected in order to save one person. This idea is noble and it works very well as it brings the audience a sincere idea of utopia. This utopian vision is based on a large number of lies, which has a symbolic meaning related to human nature. In the end, Good Bye Lenin! offers a brilliant cinematic event.
21 Fantastic
This film was more beautiful than I had imagined. Daniel BrŸhl is such an emotional actor that it is actually believable that a son would go through so much trouble as to create an East Germany to keep his already ailing and formerly comatose mother from dying from shock. The film is very sweet and charming, as all the supporting characters work like mad to keep the charade up for mother. And Katrin Sa§ is convincing as an activist/protective mother whose life is turned upside down and she must be the one who is being taken care of. All in all, it is a truly wonderful film with an original concept, which is something viewers haven't seen in a while (considering the amount of prequels, sequels, and remakes that are being released). Don't be afraid of subtitles either. Once you know the basic plot, they are easy to follow.
22 Reality is a Construction.
"Good Bye Lenin" (2003) is a great film that transcend the anecdote. Situated in the turmoil of a major historical event as the unification of Germany, it gives the viewer a deep insight on how social & political changes affect individual subjects.
The film has a comedy tonality, but do not let that deceive you; the main core is an acute inquiry on social, family and personal issues.
The plot is as follows: Mother (an excellent and shrewd Katrin Sa§) is an East German housewife whose husband, an eminent physician, deserts to the West living her with her two little kids. She suffers a nervous break down and remains six month in psychiatric clinic. When she recovers she launches herself into a communist militant life.
On one special celebration night, Mother sees his young son Alex (Daniel BrŸlh), arrested during an anti-government demonstration and suffers a brain attack that leaves her unconscious for eight months. These months are critical for Germany. The communist regime goes down and the reunification is a reality. When she regains consciousness the doctors tell Alex she must remain in the hospital, because any emotional alteration may be fatal.
Notwithstanding Alex decide to bring his mother back home. But home has changed adapting to new times: new furniture, new kitchen tools, new... everything. Alex & his sister Ariane (Maria Simon) dismantle all and reconstruct the "old home". Mother is installed in her bedroom and Alex with the help of his friends "create" for her a virtual pre-change "reality". Alex's efforts to mend "reality intrusion" give way to incredible funny situations.
On this backdrop many interesting questions arises: What is reality? Were changes beneficial to ordinary people? Could the mass media alter our perception of what's going on? Each viewer will have his own answers. The film is undoubtedly a thought provoking one.
Love at the interior of a family nucleus, shows up as a healing tool of great power.
A very moving film to enjoy & discuss!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.
23 Fantastic!
This film was fantastic. I throughly enjoyed the humor, and especially the nostalgia of it. Some of the humor may be a little over the heads of Americans (sorry!) but it's still worth watching! Sehr Gut! :-)
24 "Truth was rather a dubious concept."
"Goodbye Lenin" is set in East Germany, in 1989. It's a period of considerable social unrest. The film's plot is concerned with a single mother, Christiane Kerner (Katrin Sass) whose physician husband suddenly defected to the West years before. As the wife of a defector, Christiane initially faced a great deal of suspicion from the authorities. In the ensuing years, she raised her two children, Alex (Daniel Bruhl) and Ariane, alone, and she's carved out a life for herself with the hand she's been dealt. Christiane is a tireless idealist who now receives recognition from the authorities for her contributions to the Communist party and to the state. One night, Alex is arrested during a demonstration, and Christiane collapses and falls into a coma at the shock.
In the 8 months Christiane spends in a coma, East Germany undergoes permanent, irrevocable changes. People who'd built their whole lives around a political ideal lived to see it crashing down (literally) with the destruction of the Berlin Wall. East Germans rapidly embrace the changes--everything from clothing, diet, and furniture. Everyday life changes with phenomenal speed, and this all takes place while Christiane slumbers on.
Then one day, Christiane wakes up. And this presents Alex with a dilemma. He believes that his mother would suffer a relapse if she discovers the truth about the destruction of East Germany. Christiane's friends, family and neighbours conspire to create the illusion that nothing has changed. Alex is aided and abetted in the deception by Denis, a would-be filmmaker. Denis and Alex's efforts are hilarious, but there's a serious side to all of this. The film includes footage of the wall collapsing, and the film really does a remarkable and amazing job showing how life rapidly changed for East Germans who were desperate to absorb Western culture. There are some scenes that are unforgettable. But apart from this, the film also is a moving story of the devotion between Alex and his mother.
"Goodbye Lenin" is a German film with subtitles. The DVD includes the director's (Wolfgang Becker) commentary in subtitles. The commentary about the film is concerned mainly with the technical difficulties encountered, and it's well worth watching--displacedhuman
25 Simply Superb
Goodbye, Lenin gets better every time I think about it. A comedy, a history lesson, a sweet-hearted story of filial love, the film impresses on every level and from every angle, including cinematic. For example, the scene that provides the visual image of the title, as the recovering mother looks out the window of her painstakingly recreated room, is at once simple, eloquent, and plainly unforgettable.
But is the mother really what she seems? That's the question and the final subtlety of the film. Consider: the long lie about the reason for her husband's flight to West Germany; the gadfly letters she writes for others to complain of the Communist society's products and practices; the fact that her heart attack occurs as she sees her son beaten by the Stasi; the murmuring scene with her son's girlfriend toward the end of the film; the way she watches her son even as she is watching the final elaborate hoax he has mounted to explain why East Germany no longer exists. And three days later he scatters her ashes, as clueless to her real nature and feelings about the East German state as, in a completely different context and movie, the son in The Deep End is about his Mom and what she did for him.
Whatever you have to do, don't miss this movie.
26 Oh so witty!
Excellent movie! It's loaded with insider jokes. We were laughing out loud the whole movie. For Americans or anyone else unfamiliar with East Germany it's still a fabulous movie (just not as funny). You have to see it. "Unsere Heimat..." :)
27 Not what I expected, but still maintains to be good.
This was the first forgein i have bought, because i enjoyed the idea, i expected more dark comedy from it but was somewhat dissapointed but it is a very well put together film, this is a good renter to a moive connassuer or someone who is just trying out something new.
28 Different perspective
The obvious reaction of any Westerner is that of most reviewers of this movie: seeing it as a comedy, where the weight and meat of the critique points out at the former socialist system, among many other things. This is what the film shows, isn't it?
Most definitely.
This is what we see in the movie for sure. But at the end of it all, what is the meaning behind all those images and dialogues?
As someone who grew up behind the Iron Curtain in Romania and was in Germany during those early nineties, the perception is different.
Sure the standards of living in the East and West were as different as night and day. This is no secret, and one doesn't need a new movie, especially the Germans, to remind them of that. Retro-propaganda - "look how bad, how pathetic it all was"? Come on.
The real question is how much of the message in the movie points out at the inability of the new system, the capitalist one, to at least try to create an ideal world?
Alex's mom shock can't come from the ideological differences between the two systems. Most of the reviewers missed this. The hint is right there in the movie: the principal sacks her specifically because of her idealistic views.
But ideology is not juxtaposable with idealism. In fact, the differences are astronomical.
She wasn't a party ideologue. She was "just" an idealist.
Her son knew her vital need for an ideal world, or at least for a world that is striving towards an ideal.The system change would have robbed her of that hope.
The end of the movie has a symbolic meaning, and it applies to all former socialist countries: there was a trade off. And for the most part is for the better. Something irreplaceable though died.
The Germans, at least those in the former East, along with the rest of the Eastern block countries, don't need a Michael Moore style critique to get the message: this is as good as it gets
29 Delicate Humor and Pathos in a timely story
This German film represents to me the constant question of what European movies by the likes of Fellini, Truffaut, Renoir and Bergman have that American movies don't which make these movies seem so much better than many American movies, while lacking many niceties sported by Hollywood movies which make them shine with a surface quality the European films lack. Why else would we bother to watch these flicks while keeping one eye on the action and another on the subtitles.
Fortunately, I know German, so I could keep both eyes on the action, checking the subtitles occasionally to check the accuracy of the translation. While not perfectly literal, it was a good translation into colloquial English, with even the occasional curse word properly translated, although there was rarely anything stronger than the German `Sheise'. The movie's `R' rating is a total mystery to me. There is some very brief nudity and sex, but hardly any language 13 year olds have not already heard aplenty. My best explanation for it is that the setting of the brief incidents is so believable that it may have a much stronger impact on a young viewer than sex or violence in an implausibly plotted Hollywood product. This is like `Lord of the Rings' receiving a PG-13 for `epic battle sequences and story images'.
There is little suspense in the story as much of it is summarized on the back of the jewel case, so I have no qualms in outlining it here. The story is all about a family of four living in East Berlin. In 1979, the doctor father leaves an East German family, nominally to live with a girlfriend in West Germany after leaving the East to attend a medical convention in Dusseldorf. The shock of the seeming abandonment sends the mother into a catatonia. After treatment at an East German sanitarium, she returns filled with zeal and idealism about East German socialism, vigorously following this path for eight years until 1989, when she has a heart attack upon seeing her son being arrested in a protest march against the Berlin wall. The attack is not treated as quickly as it should have been, so the mother remains in a coma for eight months. In this time, the East German communist party dissolves the Berlin wall is demolished and East and West Berlin and East and West Germany become one country. At this point, the mother awakes from her coma and doctors say she can experience no shocks, as they would probably drive her to a relapse. Since the son believes that hearing of the fall of the GDR (East Germany) would probably be such a shock, he insists on taking his mother home and editing everything she sees and hears with the help of a colleague who is a budding television producer. The chum gets old television newsreels and the two of them create new ones in a makeshift studio. One new newsreel has to be created when the mother sees a giant Coca-Cola banner on the wall of a tall building just outside their window. The cover story is that the poor giant Atlanta company had to have help from a large East German bottler to make their European bottling quotas. A second, more elaborate ruse must be constructed when the mother manages to wander out onto the street filled with western autos and, of all things, IKEA ads for `Billy' bookshelves on kiosks. The story is complicated by the sister's involvement with a West German and the drunken former principal at her school and mercenary former students bribed into singing for the mother in East German Pioneer scarves. The resolution with the family's father is something of a surprise, as is the resolution of the ruse about the East German regime.
There is certainly a lot of intentional humor in this movie, but it is really hard to call it a comedy. One of the most subtly funny moments was the `quote' from Fellini's `La Dolce Vita' where the mother sees the top half of a statue of Lenin being hauled off to some ignominious fate by a low flying helicopter. Writers and Director Wolfgang Becker replaced Fellini's statue of Christ with a statue of Lenin, leaving the viewer to make the connection. There are no gags and there is plenty of emotional pain and pathos, although the ending is logical and satisfying. The acting by the cast totally unknown to American experience is uniformly terrific. The other side of the coin is that it has the typically European lack of Hollywood veneer on its production values. The editing and direction are all good, but there are virtually no subtle touches in set decoration, set design, or cinematography. But, the story is so good, you hardly miss them.
The packaging proudly proclaims that the movie won 15 German and European film awards and was nominated for best foreign film by both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. I must look up the winner of those awards, as a film better than this one would be something to see.
As long as you have some taste for foreign films with subtitles, or know German, this movie will reward your watching it. Unlike a very select few foreign films like `La Femme Nikita' and `Run, Lola, Run', the movie may not have the kind of energy to overcome an aversion to subtitles, but I recommend it anyway. The version I saw in letterbox format had all subtitles below the film in the lower black bar, so there was absolutely no problem reading them, if you need them.
Highly recommended.
30 Iron Curtain ironies
Oft-repeated images of East Germans joyfully surging through breaches in The Wall have obscured who was left behind. In this charming story, we learn not all the DDR's residents resisted socialism. Nor was reunification an unmodified blessing for all. A half-century of Western propaganda's view of the East has blinded us to such people as Christiane Kerner. Abandoned by her husband, who's fled to the West, she "marries" the socialist state, becoming a dedicated worker. Seeing her son pummeled by Stasi agents during a demonstration, Christiane suffers a heart attack, lapsing into a coma. Alexander, as devoted to her as she is to socialism, strives to assist her survival. The surrounding world strives to defeat him.
Honecker's DDR is collapsing around the family leaving Alexander with the task of trying to restore the past. His mother's survival, when she awakens, depends on his success. As the "man of the family" he struggles to keep his sister, her boyfriend, his own new girlfriend and his mother's colleagues on stage in his bizarre scenario. Food jars are re-labelled, TV news is contrived and the new world of "freedom" is kept away. However, the pressure of Coca Cola and Burger King is strong - and Alexander must cope with them all.
Ironies abound in this stunning presentation of "the other side". Alexander describes the DDR military as "the world's last great shooting club". A demonstration becomes people "getting together for a little exercise". Christiane's dedication, which has nothing to do with politics or philosophy, is intense, but not absolute. She hungers for what she already has, but remains unfulfilled. Socialism isn't perfect - she streams complaint letters to the authorities. Her "marriage" to the ideal is reminiscent of Christian nuns. Will she die "in the Faith" as so many others have done? Becker uses this and other images masterfully. The red banners of the DDR merge deftly those of Coca Cola, Germany's most recent invader.
Becker's imagery and dialogue presentation is vivid and subtle at once. He uses his characters brilliantly - Hitchcock would approve, even if there's no mystery to unveil. With a contrasting mix of slow and fast action, Becker depicts the upheavals surrounding the collapse of German socialism with stunning clarity. As the Special Features reveal, this film was cut by a third and the missing scenes are tantalising. An film worthy of all its awards and attention. Watch it and see "the other side" as it was. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
31 A good concept
Good Bye Lenin has a good concept but it's not as funny as I was hoping it'd be. It's also too slow in some places. Even with all this it's one of the better German movies I've seen.
32 STASI Out! STASI Out!
Its in German and has English subtitles.
Ok, now that I've instantly cut my audience down to the people who will probably dig this film, I will begin.
Wolfgang Becker has lovingly crafted this portrait of East/West Germany during it's time of political upheaval through the story of one boy's love for his mother. Having never seen a story of Germany through the rose tinted glasses of an idealist socialist, this was a learning experience for me. Through the film, Alex (played by Daniel Bruhl who you will just fall in love with by the end) rewrites East Germany's history for his mother in an effort to steel her from any shocks to her heart after she awakens from an 8 month coma during which the Wall fell, and capitalism invaded the East. As Alex says in the film, he ends up portraying East Germany as how he wishes it was, rather than how it had been. This story shows the effects and consequences of change in Germany through the eyes of her people. Cosmonauts, experimental art, drugs, Spreewald Pickles, and waiting three years for a car... There is a particulalry poignant scene when the family's savings is rendered worthless due to the currency change...
All in all, a good story, and a fine film.
33 The Melting of the Cold War - and its Rivulets of Effect
GOODBYE, LENIN! is a solid piece of filmmaking that incorporates the best of both storytelling and conscious raising. It is all the more amazing to watch as a piece of history: the action takes place from immediately before the fall of the Berlin Wall to its aftermath eight months later. The story is simple: an East German family has lost the head of the household for (apparently!) fleeing to West Germany for the love of another woman. The wife (Katrin Sass) is dumbstruck but survives and continues her activist activities as a Socialist/Communist, teaching children and workers the good points of being an East German Socialist. One evening her son Alex (Daniel Bruhl) takes part in a demonstration against the government's curfews and ends up being beaten by the police. The mother, seeing this happen, falls in the street having suffered a cardiac arrest. She is hospitalized, and is in a coma for eight months during which time her son Alex sits by her bedside, hopeful she will recover. During the coma, of course, the Berlin Wall falls, Germany is united, and socialism of the Cold War is over. When the mother awakens, Alex is told that her condition is delicate and she must be spared any shocks. To this end, Alex and his sister and friends the mother home, change the house to resemble the pre-Berlin Wall fall, effect bogus broadcasts to make the mother feel that the East German philosophy has triumphed and the West Germans are moving into the better socialistic climes of East Germany! How this charade plays out with all of the consequences of the good intentions of Alex ties the movie together. Far from being a preachy political satire or documentary, this tender movie is more about family bonds than anything else. The direction by Wolfgang Becker is superb, as is the acting by all involved. Watching this film will entertain you, inform you of critical historical events, and leave you with a lovely afterglow. Recommended!
34 Humorous and heartwarming
Good Bye Lenin! is one of the best movies to come out of Germany in the past few years. The film displays brilliantly the many conflicts of interest which gripped the German people during the events of 1989 and 1990. Actors Katrin Sa§ and Daniel BrŸhl perform wonderfully as mother and son. Alex's(Daniel BrŸhl)desperate attempts to keep his ailing mother, who is a staunch communist, from finding out that her beloved GDR is no more border on absurd, but it is this absurdity that makes his actions so poignant, and at times downright comical.
The film's seriousness and black humor balance each other out, giving the viewer an intimate look inside the newly dynamic world of the former east Germans.
I recommend this film to anyone, regardless of one's cinematographic tastes. Its truly a remarkable film that will be remembered as one of the greats in German cinematography.
35 X Filme/Creative Pool Strikes Again!
What a delightful pleasure this movie is. It's fun to watch, yet gut-wrenching in its honesty. There are moments of unbounded humor here, but the tone overall is one of poignant tragedy amid a growing series of obstacles which the main characters must face together.
The film wrestles candidly with absurdity: At times, the best action might be to perpetrate deceit, even toward one's own mother. The viewer--witnessing the mother's reactions to the increasing complexity of staged, televised, and recorded lies--wonders what she must think.
It's difficult to say who the real star of this movie is. On the surface, it appears to be the talented young Daniel Bruehl. Perhaps it's the steady passing of time--Berlin's World Clock features prominently, silently, throughout. On deeper reflection, the best candidates may well be the city of Berlin, or the rapidly-dying idealism once found in the East German republic.
I hope you will see this movie. I think you will enjoy it regardless of your age or political leanings.
36 Welcome, German Cinema
An intelligent and compelling comedy (or dramedy), "Good Bye Lenin" presents an interesting portrait of the multiple changes that affected Germany a few years ago. Managing to offer a strong social/political/historical perspective about the evolution of his country, director Wolfgang Becker also delivers a solid character study about a youngster and his relationship with his mother, touching issues such as the generation gap or the power of a lie. The acting is good overall (Daniel Bruhl is very convincing), the directing is clever, the plot is gripping and the soundtrack (by Yann Tiersen) is superbly crafted, which makes for an above average cinematic experience.
Recommended.
37 NOT YOUR MASS-PRODUCED AMERICAN PAP
Even without the telltale subtitles, you can tell that "Goodbye Lenin" is not an American movie. Why is that, you ask? Because it can offer all the elements of good filmmaking: storytelling, character development...of its general complexity without sacrificing values.
Values, you say? Oh yeah--those quaint notions that inherently recognize right versus wrong and/or hold some old traditions near & dear. Again, the inclusion of old-time verities tips one off that TimeWarner is not providing the funding for "Goodbye Lenin." In fact, TimeWarner types would not fit into the ouevre of the film at all.
To cut to the chase, the story follows the antics of a young son's attempts to cover up the 1989 breakup of the GDR to his ailing mother. Residents of East Berlin, the son's mother--an ardent communist--emerges from a coma; doctors warn her children, though, that any shock or upset could bring on a fatal heart attack.
Knowing too well the cultural havoc that rampant post-1989 Westernism has created over the former GDR, the son goes to great comedic lengths to recreate pre-1989 Berlin in their tiny apartment in Alexanderplatz.
Which is yet another way "GL" cannot be mistaken for mass-produced American sap: it can manage to be a comedy, a complex political questions and a brave champion of Olde World values. And all at the same time!
Its refreshing to see the son's devotion to his mother, respect for familial ties and tradition. All Americans should be made to watch "GL:" to see the ugliness of our popular culture firsthand as it makes its brash way into the GDR. Coke banners, pornography, rap music, Britney...
Unlike those American movies that do make the attempt to formulate a message (which are becoming rarer by the day!), this film doesn't hit you over the head to get you to see the deleterious effects of western imperialism and crass consumerism. The movie's producers simply do this through their characters: a daughter who works at the new Burger King; Denis, the eager aspiring movie director who provides much of the comic relief in this film.
Although he may not be crazy about Lenin's theories and living under the communist regime, the son has enough depth of character to acknowledge and appreciate his mother's years of devotion to The Cause. But this is where the predictability ends in "GL>" Now usher in the disturbing and unexplained fact that his father was persecuted by authorities for not joining the Party and hence defected to West Berlin. Is this why his wife was such a devoted worker in The Party?
This could have been fleshed out more, just as the "Wessie-ness" (western Berlin manners and mores) of his sister's boyfriend, Rainer. The film has other shortcomings: the relationship between the son and his mother's nurse is too sappy and predictable ("American-like, you could say).
Some may view his efforts is recreating a pre-1989 life for his mother too farfetched for reality: think of the pickle scenes. The director's use of fast-forwarding for many of the comic scenes are hilarious and accentuate their absurdity.
Actual footage from the crumbling of the Berlin Wall is interspersed thru the film as well as newsrells of political leaders. I found it interesting that no images were shown of former President Reagan (or any other American officials for that matter).
The scene with the disembodied Lenin flying over Alexanderplatz, waving goodbye to the mother, is SUBLIME.
It doesn't get any better than this!
38 Goodbye stupid films
Goodbye Lenin! is like a breath of fresh air -- the rare comedic farce that avoids Hollywood's addiction to formula, love story that sidesteps sentimentalism, and political commentary that isn't boring.
The story line is wonderfully simple: a woman lapses into a coma in the former East Germany and when she awakes, the Berlin Wall had come down and the communist state she served has been dissolved. Her family, aiming to save her from additional stress that could send her into another coma, creates a small bubble of the former East for her to live in. Sounds simple, but the best stories are often very simple on the surface ... Goodbye Lenin! proves that point once again.
The DVD package is just average -- a wider selection of languages, and maybe some historical information about the time frame covered by the film that could help explain some references for people unfamiliar with the former East Germany -- would have earned an extra star.
39 We owe it to ourselves
This is probably the best movie to come out of Germany in the last 20 years. I can personally guarantee that it is the best in the last three years. I saw this movie two years ago in German and can only hope the translation does it justice. It is one of the sweetest and funniest stories out there in a real life bitter sweet sort of way. If you have any interest in what has ever gone on in the world, or ever asked a German friend of mine "was it REALLY communist in Eastern Germany?" Look I know what you mean...more what was it like in the DDR but if you want to have an idea please watch this movie...all the good sides and many of the bad sides in an "ostaligia" (ost means east) sort of way. BTW I have recommended this movie to every western german I know.
Take care and please enjoy!
40 A funny, moving little import that sidesteps shortcomings...
If you're a sucker for the ethereal, transcendent music of Yann Tiersen (Amelie), then you'll be drooling within the first minute of this warm, endearing import that sidesteps a few minor issues to be a sweet look at family, dedication, and Socialism. Daniel Bruhl stars as Alex Kerner, a young man (19ish) who had lived under the Socialist uprising within Germany, pre-Wall falling. The reason: his mother was a hardcore comrade, and right before Socialism dies, she falls into a coma and wakes up after Democracy has set in. The problem: she can't have any huge emotional trauma or she'll croak. So the stage is set for an often-hilarious little farce that guides the movie through plenty of physical comedy, wild setups, but an unfortunately long third act that could have used some trimming. I doth protest too much - Lenin is a sweet film that is much a silly farce as a look at the lengths a son will go to save his mother and an examination of post-dissolution Germany. The movie seems like it's all mapped out in the beginning, but by the nostalgic finale, it has gone in some unexpected places and developed characters that seem insignificant at first (especially an early subplot of Alex having the hots for a nurse, whom he soon dates - a refreshing twist for once). It's the kind of movie, much like Amelie, that will have you walking out of the theater smiling and forgetting its shortcomings. If a third-act subplot of a long-lost father had been excised from the movie, I'd be going nuts about it. As is, I'm still elated from seeing this enjoyable foreign film. GRADE: B+
41 Touching look at what could have been
Well written and thoroughly entertaining film combining fact, fantasy and full of emotion. The love for a mother and the importance of her Communist dream set the scene during which the characters take a good long hard look at their own lives. Her dreams are not wasted as they soon become a seed of 'if only' and the ending gives hope to what could have been - it will touch reformists and socialists alike with a human face and wonderful story of friends and family. If you dream that a Socialsit Paradise could have existed then this is the film for you! You may even find yourself singing along with the DDR National Anthem at the end! (Which ironically speaks of a united Fatherland - the lyrics were made redundant and only the music permitted when the Cold War heated up in the early 60's)
42 I laughed with tears in my eyes
This is a wonderful German-language film. What amazes me is, it's so obscure in the US. It's hugely popular in Europe. "Good bye, Lenin!" is an improbable farce about an East Berlin family at the dawn of reunification. Hannah is a devoted Marxist whose greatest pleasures are volunteering at Pioneer Camp and writing letters of protest to shoddy East German manufacturers. Her son Alex covets the more "bourgeois" pleasures to be found on the West side of the wall. But when Mutti has a heart attack and falls into a coma, her doting son will go to extremes to resurrect the defunct regime. During the eight months that Hannah lay unconscious, the wall has fallen and her "Socialist Paradise" has forever changed. But her doctors warn that the abrupt culture shock could kill the fragile invalid. So Alex enlists the aid of mom's neighbors and students and even some of her heroes to carry out the illusion that everything is still the same. Maintaining the hoax becomes frustrating as familiar products become scarce, but the big challenges are yet to come. Soon gigantic statues of Lenin start coming down and gigantic billboards for CocaCola going up. And how to explain the massive influx of "Wessies" into their neighborhood? With the help of his friend, a brilliant film-student, Alex devises some absurd but convincing propaganda. His efforts are both touching and hilarious. For all its comedy, this film is very poignant. We realize that, despite the awful conditions, life in East Germany was not entirely miserable. Many of Hannah's neighbors are also poorly adjusting to the onslaught of capitalism. And as Alex strives to protect his mother from the truth, he discovers that she has been concealing a devastating secret of her own. Watching this film was a roller coaster experience. I laughed, I cried, and I laughed while I cried. It's just super. Don't miss it, you'll love it too!
43 X Filme/Creative Pool Strikes Again!
What a delightful pleasure this movie is. It's fun to watch, yet gut-wrenching in its honesty. There are moments of unbounded humor here, but the tone overall is one of poignant tragedy amid a growing series of obstacles which the main characters must face together.
The film wrestles candidly with absurdity: At times, the best action might be to perpetrate deceit, even toward one's own mother. The viewer--witnessing the mother's reactions to the increasing complexity of staged, televised, and recorded lies--wonders what she must think.
It's difficult to say who the real star of this movie is. On the surface, it appears to be the talented young Daniel Bruehl. On deeper reflection, the best candidates may well be the city of Berlin, the passage of time, or the rapidly-dying idealism one found in the East German republic.
I hope you will see this movie. I think you will enjoy it regardless of your age or political leanings.
44 Laugh and cry with the former East Germany
As a Tulsan living in Germany who has experienced Germany before and after the breach of the Berlin wall, I naturally wanted my friends and family to see this great film so they could get a taste of east/west pathos, love and laughter.
What a pity this wildly popular, blockbuster film (over here at least) remains amazingly obscure in the US. "Sonnenalle" ("Sun Alley"), another east/west German classic, is another case in point.
Germany gets a steady diet of our new and old, best and worst movies. What I can't get over is the apparent lack of US interest in post-WW2 Germany.
What a pity that the two DVD systems don't allow me to simply bring DVDs over to show my friends and family. I know they would appreciate these films as much as the other Americans who have seem them over here.
Waiting....
45 Not the goofy comedy depicted in the trailer
Wolfgang Becker's "Goodbye Leinin!" was a phenomenon is Germany, packing theaters and sweeping the 2003 European Film Awards in Berlin. In light of that success, it was disappointing to have to wait well over a year for it to arrive in U.S. theaters.
The U.S. trailer depicts a goofy comedy, but this is actually a touching movie about one family in the former East Germany struggling through the changes brought on in 1989 by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the DDR state. In addition, it's a great little history lesson - there are great intermingled clips of East German leaders Erich Honecker, Egon Krenz and of other leaders like Mikhail Gorbachev and Helmut Kohl. Footage of "Ossies" stampeding into friendly Embassies right before the Wall tumbles are turned inside-out and artfully presented as Westerners clamoring to get into the "socialist paradise."
Even though this is Daniel Bruehl's movie (as the lead character 'Alex,' he appears in everyone of the scenes), it's his comic foil (and new 'Wessie' pal) Denis (as wonderfully played by Florian Lukas) who stands out. Whether it's his unbridled delight at sneaking his low-budget '2001' homage into a wedding video, or his portrayal as a spot-on, faux East German network newsreader, Lukas' brand of humor is one that transcends any language gap. He must have had them howling in the theaters in Germany.
To get a real sense of the German experience since 1989, I highly recommend you catch 'Goodbye Lenin' while it's still in theaters.
46 Hide it For My Mother's Sake:Moving Drama about Son & Mother
Another good film from Germany (and from the producer of "Run Lola Run") "Good Bye Lenin!" is best enjoyed when you see it not as a comedy ... actually, it is a comedy, but its tone is more subdued than films like "Life Is Beautiful," and the best part of the film is in fact its dramatic part about the son and the mother.
It's 1989, the year which was to witness the end of the notorious walls in Berlin. Now, Alex is an ordinary boy living in East Germany with his sister and mother. Just before the big social changes happen, however, Alex's mother collapses because of heart attack and is hospitalized in coma.
Luckily, she wakes up again after eight months, but the dcotor warns that any shock could be fatal to her condition. The problem is, she was a devoted member of the former regime (which is rapidly going) and the products from the West are rushing into the place where Alex and his mom are living. In short, a red Coca Cola logo could kill her instantly.
So Alex starts to lie before his mother, pretending that the former commune is still healthily going on, even faking up the news reports on TV (with a help from his friend who wants to be a film director). But can Alex keep on this pace forever before the huge social changes that would sweep up the whole nation?
The premises are slightly contrived, I admit, but the film works well because of the credible portraits of the mother and the son. The actors are doing exceptional jobs, especially Daniel Bruhl playing Alex, whose ideas of "for the sake of mother" goes beyond the normal territory, but who remains still a likable and charming fellow all through the film. Katrin Sass who plays his mother is also great, whose fragile portraits of the mother easily convince us of the reason her son should care for her so much.
Another strength is the charming music by acclaimed musician Yann Tiersen, whose name might be remembered as the one behind the lovely score of lovely French film called "Amelie."
There are lots of funny scenes in the film, but the sad tone is always felt behind the hilarious moments. And that is right when we come to realize that after all this is a story about a mother and her son, and the understanding between them, as the surprising ending suggests to us. How much do we know about our parents, or children? The film's messsage under the comic gesture is as heavy as that question.
47 You had to have been there
As a West German from Berlin, this movie was the icing on the cake. I watched it in Germany, in the original version. I still recall the way we all started missing the good old days ( well, allegedly good ), and how so many of the former East German members of the privileged groups really started mourning the loss of their old lives! I remember the look of the East German products and the ingenuity of our "brothers and sisters behind the Iron Curtain" when it came to organizing food, cars, etc. The movie not only brings out the changes we all went through with all the necessary adjustments, that some mastered and others didn't so well, but also the denial that a lot of the former Socialist Party members suffered from. Heaven forbid somebody tells Mom what happened while she was in a coma, she might not survive that. How somebody can be so indoctrinated that that kind of change would kill them, sad, but the way the movie portrayed it- funny. A lot of typical German humor, though, beware, hope it comes out in the translation. Thumbs up, I hope it gets released soon on dvd, so I can show my American husband what we all endured.
48 A clever and intelligent scheme
Imagine waking up from a coma and realizing that the world around you has irreversibly changed in a radical manner. There is little doubt that this awareness will shock and amaze you. It is exactly this situation that Alex Kerner desires to avoid. After his mother, Hanna, suffers from a heart attack and slips into a coma for eight months the doctors warned her family to avoid any stressful events that can injure her recovery. The problem is that Hanna is a devout believer of the socialist government of East Germany and while she was in her coma the Berlin Wall came down and the two Germanys reunited. Confident that the news will cause harm to his mother Alex is determined that his mother remain ignorant of the obvious changes that dominate East Berlin. As a result he develops some brilliant and resourceful schemes to make his mother believe that time hasn't changed such as filming his own news programs and changing the labels on the food jars. GOOD BYE, LENIN! is a funny yet poignant film that is sure to delight and entertain. Although there are many laugh-out-loud moments included there are also underlying issues and concerns that are on a more serious note. As the plot develops each member of the Kerner family realizes that their particular sense of reality is not as they believe. This particular family has been through a lot emotionally and psychologically, and I felt inspired watching their dramas unfold. The acting was superb, the plot was entertaining, and I walked away with a new perspective of this socio-political event and life in general. Bravo!
49 One of the best in years
Okay, the other reviews elegantly give you the German context, and perhaps also the greater meaning of East Germany sliding into unlamented memory - the foul and highly visible exhausts from the wretched Osti Trabant cars should do that all by itself.
The characters come alive, and the plot makes you care about them as people, not just card board cut-outs signifying some abstraction or another.
If you have not seen a really fine, memorable movie in 'way too long, perhaps you will brave the subtitles and give ol' Lenin a try? Me, I am tempted to go watch it again in the theater, or maybe try for the DVD from offshore.
50 I understood what was being said
I watched the movie in my attempt to speak and understand the German language. I enjoyed not only the story but the dialog was easy to follow for a second semester German language student. (...)
51 The ties that bind--both personal and political.
I like movies that take me to faraway places, and Wolfgang Becker's "Good bye, Lenin!" takes us to a place few Americans can even conceive of: East Germany just before and just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. For those of us raised in Cold War hysteria, it's instructive to see a portrayal of an average East German family, whose patriotism toward their Communist government was motivated by simple idealism, not by diabolical terrorism. "Good bye, Lenin!" focuses on Christiane, a teacher and youth counselor in East Berlin who suffers a massive heart attack. The end of Communism and the tearing down of the Wall occur during her eight-month coma, and when she wakes, her doctor warns her son Alex that any severe shock will kill her. Thereafter, Alex moves heaven and earth to ensure Christiane never finds out that the Socialist experiment she adored is no more. This obviously is easier said than done: how does Alex explain to Mom the Coca-Cola banner outside her bedroom window? Or find the old East German food brands and newscasts Mom expects to see? Or hide the fact that his sister Ariane now works at a Burger King? The film's farcical elements are not ignored, but it's to Becker's credit that the farce isn't all there is to "Good bye, Lenin!" He makes some tart observations about the brutality of the Communist system and the vulgarity of the consumer culture that replaced it. Even more, he emphasizes the drama within the family--particularly when Christiane drops a bombshell secret of her own. More poignant than funny overall, "Good bye, Lenin!" is at its best when it emphasizes the deep love between mother and son, their common traits and their deep desire to protect each other. Politics may have shaped their lives, but love is all that matters in the end. The German cast--none of whose members was previously familiar to me--is splendid, particularly the actors who play Christiane and Alex: Katrin Sass, an actress of the most refined mature beauty, and Daniel Bruhl, Germany's answer to (and improvement on) Ashton Kutcher. "Good bye, Lenin!" portrays a political culture alien to most Americans, but the familial bonds it portrays are universal and heartwarming.
52 Good Bye Lenin
Just saw the film. Very, very good portrayal of life in the former DDR. Visited there in 1976. Really a very touching story of a young mans love for his dying Mother and the bizarre things he would do to maintain a charade. Quirky, screwball, black humor. A must see!!
53 Germans do have a sense of humor!!!
I am originally from East Germany. I lived there in 1989. I saw the demonstrations happen in my hometown (not Berlin), I felt the tension, but also the excitement and insecurity of the days following the fall of the wall.
I watched the movie last year in Germany, watched in in December again when it was released on DVD in Germany and am planning to show it to my students in a politics class. That is how much I love this movie. I love it because he shows something very simple ... the things a person wants to go through for the love of his mother. But also because it quite adequately portrays the time of 1989 and 1990. It shows how excited people became if they already got their car after waiting "only 3 years" when it was normal to wait 10+ years. It shows also how proud East Germans were about some of their achievements, how attached they were to the system and I know how hard it was and still is for some to deal with the demise of the GDR. It gives a bit of an insight in the problems and ways of thinking from that time.
The movie is fascinating on many levels and entertaining and humorous on so many others. Katrin Sass, an actress from East Germany, and Daniel Bruehl who plays her son, make a great cast for the movie. Katrin Sass, because she can portray the die-heart communist with such credibility, not overdone nor distorted, and Daniel Bruehl because he plays this young man so well. The movie comes with high recommendation from me.
54 Beyond the playfulness -
I heartily recommend "Good Bye Lenin". It has been a "major" movie in Germany. It has ushered in an era of "Ostologie" or nostalgia for the old days before the wall fell - when life was simpler than in the capitalistic west.
On a superficial level the movie could also be viewed as a yearning for the "good old days" of communism. I see a deeper, more important message in the film. It has do do with truth and how communism is an enemy of truth.
Communist rulers always believed that they knew better than the common people. They felt it was their duty to shape the actions of the common people toward more worthwhile goals. They felt so strongly about it that they were willing to distort the truth, and even use threats of and actual physical violence to get their way.
The main character, Alex, was raised under this system. He is a very loving son. But has he unconsciously picked up these same communist beliefs?
Alex's behavior in trying to "protect" his mother from the truth is very similar to the actions of communist/totalitarian governments which control the media in order to propagandize the citizens and "protect" them from what the ruling elites decide is not good for them.
At the dacha Alex's mother confesses that she has lied to her children for all those years, again to "protect" them from the truth. But in her confession she admits that this has been a great dis-service to them. She did it because of her own weakness and FEAR of retribution from the government. Somehow Alex never seems to get this message. Is it because his communist upbringing has blinded him to the importance of truth? Does he think that truth is only relative? Is he acting toward his mother like the communist state acted towards its citizens?
Isn't this movie fundamentally about truth? And the importance of truth?
55 Socially conscious black comedy
`Good Bye, Lenin!' is a fascinating German film that was for unclear reasons denied a best foreign film nomination in the recent Oscars, but I consider it one of the best films I've seen this year. `Good Bye, Lenin!' is an entertaining and surreal black comedy, that doesn't really stand the test of logic and reality, but beneath the surface it's really a very socially conscious film, that gets across very well the atmosphere and problems of the post-communist East Germany.
The story is of Alex, whose mother, a devoted member of the Communist Party, suffers a heart attack which sends her into a coma - through which she sleeps throughout the months of revolution and the fall of the communist regime. When she awakes, the doctors warn Alex not to cause his mother any anxiety or excitement; therefore, he goes to ludicrously immense lengths to keep her convinced that communism in East Berlin is still alive. Not much of it, once again, stands the test of reason, but it's incredibly witty and entertaining, and manages, throughout, to get across some powerful statements.
`Good Bye, Lenin!' is both fun and important, a film which I recommend to everyone. Don't be afraid of European cinema; even though the film might be difficult to come by, it's very rewarding and well worth your time.
56 FŸr Mutter
It's October 1989, and East Berliner Alex Kerner (Daniel BrŸhl), the teenage son of Communist Party stalwart Christiane (Katrin Sa§), is arrested during a peaceful demonstration in the streets approaching The Wall. On her way to receive an honor for her service to the German Democratic Republic, Mom witnesses her boy's apprehension and has a heart attack that thrusts her into a coma, which lasts until June 1990. By then, The Wall has effectively been breached, Western capitalism has invaded East Berlin with a vengeance, Christiane's teenage daughter Ariane (Maria Simon) has dropped out of the university to get a job at the new Burger King, where she's taken up with a "Wessie" (a West Berliner), and Alex has fallen for Lara (Chulpan Khamatova), a student nurse from the USSR.
After Alex insists that his mother be released for at-home convalescence, the doctor makes clear that any shock to the patient's system will likely kill her. Since Communism is all that Christiane has ever known, Alex contrives an elaborate scheme to shield his bed-ridden mother from all evidence of The Wall's collapse and the West's victory of materialism over her socialist world. What is she to think of that gigantic Coca-Cola advert hanging from the apartment building opposite her window?
The improbable prospects for the con's success aside, GOOD BYE LENIN is a witty, clever, and sometimes poignant look at the wave of change which swept through East Berlin after the surprisingly sudden meltdown of Die Mauer, carrying forward the young and resilient with the flow, but leaving many bitter, old guard stranded in unfamiliar territory .
Bruehl, resembling a young Christopher Reeve, is enormously engaging as the young man trying to do the right thing for his Mom, especially as it was his civil disobedience that catalyzed her physical debilitation in the first place. Christiane elicits much sympathy from the viewer. But she, too, has a secret that she's been keeping from her children for years.
As a child of the Cold War era - born in 1949 - I gazed transfixed at the TV images in the closing weeks of 1989 as Die Mauer was danced upon and assaulted by raucous Berlin crowds from both the East and West. After all, I'd grown up with The Bomb, the Evil Empire, and Nikita's shoe-pounding at the U.N., and had myself navigated Checkpoint Charlie on a couple of occasions. GOOD BYE LENIN is a glimpse of The Wall's demise from the other side, and with a humorous twist. One only need visit the Berlin of today, pass through the once off-limits Brandenburg Gate, and walk down the Unter den Linden to witness the startling transformation enabled by that event.
57 Bye Lenin, Welcome Unified Germany... Or?
With films like "Good Bye, Lenin!", both the critics' and viewers' darling in Europe (winner of Felix for Best European Film and French Cesar for Best EU Film of 2003), you should put your logic to rest -- this is a black comedy which crumbles under strict common sense; but when you try to understand its point of view, you may relish in the "American Beauty"-lite distorted story with lots of truth hidden inside.
Alex (Daniel Bruehl) is a 20-something young man, whose mother, on the surface a devoted citizen of communist East Germany, suffers a heart attack, having witnessed a protest in October 1989. After she 'wakes up' eight months afterward, the communist regime is gone and the unification of Germany after 42 years of split is pending. But Alex, afraid of a crushing blow this reality would mean for her, takes great pains to persuade his bed-ridden mom that German Democratic Republic is still a reality -- he gets out-of-use groceries for her, shows her old-times video footage and gets 'enthusiastic' neighbors playing their roles to achieve the goal. Yet we feel that the moment the mother Christiane (Katrin Sass) finally finds out what's going on, is imminent.
Director Wolfgang Becker skilfully and un-pathetically intertwines two layers of a story -- the real fate of this particular family is far from happy and is in a strange, thought-provoking contrast with the comedian bulk of the story. The film's sober bitter-sweetness confirms that almost nothing in this world is only black or only white.
Although the potential of the movie to let outsiders feel what it really meant for ordinary people to live on the wrong side of Berlin Wall is a bit questionable (although favored, "Good Bye, Lenin!" was snubbed at Oscar nominations), it's already one of the definitive film (and artistic) statements of Germany's unifying process and may well prove essential for students of German and maybe even Eastern Europe's history in the 20th century.
58 This is the Movie that Should Have Won the Oscar
Yeah, so I know that it technically wasn't even one of the five short-list nominees, but that was due more to the problems in the Academy's foreign film selection than to the film's quality. This movie has won awards at nearly every awards show that it has taken part in, and is one of the biggest European films of the last year. I saw "The Barbarian Invasion" and it was a good movie, but nothing compared to "Good bye, Lenin!" I saw this movie last year in Berlin, and have waited with growing anticipation for it finally to be released in the US so that Americans could see what that reunification in Germany was not just about that one night with the wall coming down. Imagine my horror when I learned that it was just going to be released in NY and LA; compared to the stupid and horrible movies that Hollywood generally releases in the spring, I can't understand why more cities couldn't have made room for a critically acclaimed foreign film. In any event, if you live in one of the lucky cities, see this movie. If not, see it once it comes out on DVD...just see it. Open your mind beyond the swill that Hollywood placates us with...foreign movies are really not THAT scary, and this one is really funny. Do yourself a favor...don't accept the lie that American movies are the epitome of cinema, if you don't see this then maybe "Spirited Away" or "Amelie" or "Osama" or any of the other beautiful recent foreign films..whatever it takes. I'm not trying to be arrogant or pretentious...I just believe that life does exist outside of the USA.
59 the best movie ever made about the GDR
I am a german who lives in the USA (Nebraska) for one year as a foreign exchange student.
I watched this movie in germany and showed it to my classmates on dvd here! After watching it, they understood the whole situation so much better!!! And even though its a historical movie it was a LOT of fun to watch!
Getting a dvd player that accepts 2-dvds was very hard though thats why i'm glad it is released in american standard now, too!!
Awesome movie that everybody should watch!!!
60 Ein primer Film!
Oh my goodness! This was such a great movie! I loved it! I watched it in my German culture class while I was studying abroad at the University of Regensburg, Germany, and thought it was a great film! It was a very interesting insight into the lives of the people who lived in East Germany and their customs. For me personally, it was also an eye opener and dispelled some of the stereotypes I had formed in my mind of the DDR. On top of that, it was just a funny movie (it is intended, from what I understand, to be a comedy, so I didn't feel bad about laughing). It's also just a great story about the love one son had for his mother (in what many Americans would consider a very twisted way...maybe many Germans too). I'm so excited that this movie is coming to the US, and can't wait for it to be released on DVD...I don't have a DVD player that plays region 2, so I'm stuck waiting for it to come out here! LOL I have only one simple warning: this is not what I would call the "best" movie for a beginning German student to watch, as the language is very difficult to understand. I had been studying German for over 6 years when I first saw this movie, and it was still very difficult for me to understand. However, it's still a great story. Well, I hope this was helpful, and I hope you all enjoy this movie.;)
61 Excellent Film
I have watched this film many times. I still find new things in it. The team that made this film spent a lot of time on detail and props. I own the German DVD of this film, and it is filled with extras pertaining to the scene. I really enjoyed this DVD and am glad that it is going to be released in North America.
62 Absolutely funny!
As some one who has lived in the GDR for more than 30 years I have absolutely enjoyed this movie. The points made are based on critical issues of that time that made people being annoyed with the system. The film director knew the subject well because the jokes and fun parts are absolutely superb. Nothing far fetched. I think this movie is especially for "insiders", they will understand all the jokes. Everyone who knew the system will have a blast. Anyone who relied on propaganda to learn about life in another "world" will be surprised and maybe think a bit differently. Absolutely recommendable!
63 Good bye Lenin
Excellent review and inside to how it was living in East Germany, I grew up there and find the film very realistic. Excellent film und fun to watch!
64 Great movie, great drama, great comedy :)
I am not German, yet there were such moving moments in the movie I was on the brink of tears, and there were also some scenes where u have the most innocent and "justified" laugh while there are still tears in your eyes. A must see movie.
65 Great Movie for all Interested in German modern History
This wonderful movie shows, how living in Eastern Germany was like until the wall came down in 1990. It lets you understand, what kind of a "culture shock" the Western lifestyle was for those, who had been living in that socialistic state all life long.
Eastern Germans watch the movie and recall tender memories of the way they used to live. Western Germans and people of other nationalities finally understand, that living over there was not "just bad".
Besides all the negative there were a lot of funny and enjoyable things, that now are part of many people's precious past, which shaped their personality and made them what they are today.
I am a German myself, so it was great to watch the movie! The film will make you laugh and cry at the same time. It is a comedy and at the same time a drama.
This movie is recommandable for everyone who is wanting to find out more about Germany's modern history and still wants to enjoy a nice TV-evening and laugh...
