This movie takes place in East Berlin just prior to and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In reading some basic history of the German Democratic Republic (the GDR) I learned facts about how it was created in the Soviet Zone of occupation after WWII, about the Berlin airlift, the rule of the Communists, and the uprisings that ultimately resulted in German reunification in 1990. But all of this never gave me a feeling for what it was like to live in the country. Often it is a work of art that can best do that and "Goodbye, Lenin!" did not disappoint me in that context. Unless you were there, in watching a movie like this you have to trust the sincerity of the effort, and this movie seemed to be honest in its intentions and execution. It appeared that great care was taken to recreate the time period. But again, someone who lived through that era would have to be the final judge.
The plot concentrates on the lives of Alex (Daniel Brühl), and his mother Christiane (Kathrin Sass). Christiane is a Communist Party member, but not really a party stooge. She spends much of her time writing letters to the authorities about how small things could be improved, like dress sizing and colors. At one point she says that it was the biggest mistake in her life not to have followed her husband after he defected to the West, so her devotion to the Communist Party was not all that firm.
From the way that Christiane and Alex were living it looked to me like you could have a life in the GDR as long as you did not stray too far from the party line. You could have friends, be employed at a meaningful job (Christiane was a teacher, admired by her students), and have a family life. It was no paradise--it was noted that you could have to wait for years to buy a mediocre auto or get a phone. And the living quarters were small with drab views. But still, a life. This film was much of a history lesson for me. It is interesting to compare this movie with the excellent "The Lives of Others," where the background living conditions presented there are more sinister. But in that film you had artists and intellectuals pushing the envelop of approved behavior.
When Christiane sees Alex participating in a protest she suffers a serious heart attack and lapses into a coma for eight months. When she comes around her doctor advises Alex that she must not be subjected to any significant shocks lest she suffer another attack. However, during Christiane's coma the Berlin Wall fell and the two German countries were united. Since Alex thinks this change would be too much for his mom to digest without prompting another heart attack, he tries to present the world to her as it was before her coma, figuring this would not be too hard since she will be bedridden. This sets up the circumstance for humorous situations as it becomes increasingly more difficult for Alex to maintain the charade, what with all of the West German products flooding in and the old products fading out. And, once Chrisiane starts watching TV, Alex has to fake news programs. A lot of this amounts to replaying old news clips, since the news never changed in the old regime, just reports on productivity quotas and the evils of capitalism. At such moments I was conflicted about whether to view such commentary on the GDR with humor or sadness. Director Becker probably identified with Alex, since it must have been a challenge for him to obtain the necessary props and settings to recreate the time period.
I thought the actors were all top notch. Brühl is excellent and Chulpan Khamatova (as Laura, his love interest) is quite lovely. The relationship that blossoms between Alex and Laura is one of the most tender and believably developed that I have seen. On one level you can view this movie as love stories: between Alex and his mom, and between Alex and Laura. In fact there are many levels to the story. The friendship that develops between Alex and his cohort from the West is sincere and can be taken as a symbol for the new relationships between the East and West. It is interesting to note that the young people were mostly upbeat about the reunification, whereas the older people had some problems with it--converting from a regimented view of life that you have grown up with forever to a whole new way of living is not easy I suppose. The scene that has the helicopter removing the statue of Lenin is fantastic, not only as a beautifully filmed piece of cinema, but also as a symbol of the changing times. Becker presents a nuanced view, without apparent bias, of the impacts of reunification on the lives of ordinary people.
The score fluctuates between rather delicate themes and more upbeat tempos, reflecting the conflicting moods. It is never intrusive and adds much to the experience.
Altogether I feel this is a clever, insightful, and entertaining film.
I wish there were more people who lived in East Berlin during the time period of this film who would comment.
The plot concentrates on the lives of Alex (Daniel Brühl), and his mother Christiane (Kathrin Sass). Christiane is a Communist Party member, but not really a party stooge. She spends much of her time writing letters to the authorities about how small things could be improved, like dress sizing and colors. At one point she says that it was the biggest mistake in her life not to have followed her husband after he defected to the West, so her devotion to the Communist Party was not all that firm.
From the way that Christiane and Alex were living it looked to me like you could have a life in the GDR as long as you did not stray too far from the party line. You could have friends, be employed at a meaningful job (Christiane was a teacher, admired by her students), and have a family life. It was no paradise--it was noted that you could have to wait for years to buy a mediocre auto or get a phone. And the living quarters were small with drab views. But still, a life. This film was much of a history lesson for me. It is interesting to compare this movie with the excellent "The Lives of Others," where the background living conditions presented there are more sinister. But in that film you had artists and intellectuals pushing the envelop of approved behavior.
When Christiane sees Alex participating in a protest she suffers a serious heart attack and lapses into a coma for eight months. When she comes around her doctor advises Alex that she must not be subjected to any significant shocks lest she suffer another attack. However, during Christiane's coma the Berlin Wall fell and the two German countries were united. Since Alex thinks this change would be too much for his mom to digest without prompting another heart attack, he tries to present the world to her as it was before her coma, figuring this would not be too hard since she will be bedridden. This sets up the circumstance for humorous situations as it becomes increasingly more difficult for Alex to maintain the charade, what with all of the West German products flooding in and the old products fading out. And, once Chrisiane starts watching TV, Alex has to fake news programs. A lot of this amounts to replaying old news clips, since the news never changed in the old regime, just reports on productivity quotas and the evils of capitalism. At such moments I was conflicted about whether to view such commentary on the GDR with humor or sadness. Director Becker probably identified with Alex, since it must have been a challenge for him to obtain the necessary props and settings to recreate the time period.
I thought the actors were all top notch. Brühl is excellent and Chulpan Khamatova (as Laura, his love interest) is quite lovely. The relationship that blossoms between Alex and Laura is one of the most tender and believably developed that I have seen. On one level you can view this movie as love stories: between Alex and his mom, and between Alex and Laura. In fact there are many levels to the story. The friendship that develops between Alex and his cohort from the West is sincere and can be taken as a symbol for the new relationships between the East and West. It is interesting to note that the young people were mostly upbeat about the reunification, whereas the older people had some problems with it--converting from a regimented view of life that you have grown up with forever to a whole new way of living is not easy I suppose. The scene that has the helicopter removing the statue of Lenin is fantastic, not only as a beautifully filmed piece of cinema, but also as a symbol of the changing times. Becker presents a nuanced view, without apparent bias, of the impacts of reunification on the lives of ordinary people.
The score fluctuates between rather delicate themes and more upbeat tempos, reflecting the conflicting moods. It is never intrusive and adds much to the experience.
Altogether I feel this is a clever, insightful, and entertaining film.
I wish there were more people who lived in East Berlin during the time period of this film who would comment.