... this movie is not a complete disaster for anyone under 60. Seriously, it has become impossible to be fair to TV movies produced by ZDF without knowing that their audience is approaching 60, on average. This movie is no different. It's another movie about the German past in what was east Prussia until 1945, about the wounds the war has caused for Russians and Germans, and how suffering in the end brought together the decent people from sides. Unfortunately, the movie is neither truly dealing with the subject intellectually (the only notable quote in this context being - "there is no mathematics of guilt - maybe not, but it is always important to look at the beginning") nor is it emotionally convincing. Wolfgang Stumph's acting isn't really convincing for someone suddenly being forced to discover his own roots and have his identity challenged.
Chulpan Khamatova is playing his young beautiful female guide in Kaliningrad, and, in an excruciating plot move, falls in love with the chubby foreigner who's not at all interested in her, and just to make the whole thing completely ridiculous, follows him back to Germany in the end where his son is instantly attracted to her. Seriously, I think someone should be punished for subjecting Chulpan to these parts of the script.
All in all, I think this is a decent movie to watch with your grandparents, or great-grandparents, if you'd like to talk to them about the past, just to ease in on the subject. Otherwise, Chulpan is the only reason to watch this film - but then again, for that, you could also watch Goodbye Lenin again.
Chulpan Khamatova is playing his young beautiful female guide in Kaliningrad, and, in an excruciating plot move, falls in love with the chubby foreigner who's not at all interested in her, and just to make the whole thing completely ridiculous, follows him back to Germany in the end where his son is instantly attracted to her. Seriously, I think someone should be punished for subjecting Chulpan to these parts of the script.
All in all, I think this is a decent movie to watch with your grandparents, or great-grandparents, if you'd like to talk to them about the past, just to ease in on the subject. Otherwise, Chulpan is the only reason to watch this film - but then again, for that, you could also watch Goodbye Lenin again.