Goodbye Lenin! * * * * *
Director: Wolfgang Becker.
Screenplay: Wolfgang Becker, Bernd Lichtenberg.
Starring: Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sass, Chulpan Khamatova, Maria Simon, Florian Lukas, Alexander Beyer, Burghart Klaussner.
Directors Lars von Trier from Denmark, Pedro Almodovar from Spain, Michael Haneke from Germany, Guillermo del Toro from Mexico and most recently Tomas Alfredson from Sweden are a handful of director’s from across the globe that have cemented a fervent following worldwide. These are a notable bunch (and there are many others), so why is it then, that after this little gem of a film from 2003 that German director Wolfgang Becker hasn’t made more of name for himself? If this film is anything to go by, he certainly deserves more recognition.
In 1989, East German teenager Alex (Daniel Brühl) feels liberated when the Berlin Wall comes down. His mother, however, is a staunch Communist, who would balk at the thought of westernisation. Just before the collapse of the wall, she has a heart attack and falls into a coma. When she awakens 8 month later and Germany now reunited as a country, Alex along with his older sister are advised by doctors to protect her fragile condition from any form of stress. As a result, they fabricate news bulletins and information to dupe their recuperating mother into believing German reunification never actually happened.
With a music score by Yann Tiersen, who done the wonderful soundtrack to the 2001 French film “Amelie“, you’d be forgiven for having similar feelings to that film while watching this. It’s not just the music that they have in common though. They also share an inventive and highly original approach. This may not contain the fantasy elements of “Amelie” but it’s delivered with such an offbeat creativity that it could hold it’s own against (another notable director) Jean-Pierre Juenet’s aforementioned delight. It has a great mix of humour and pathos with scenes of such tragic sadness combined with a wonderful lightness of touch and sharp observational humour. Despite the title of the film and the political setting of the story, this is essentially a coming-of-tale and less of a commentary on the demise of communism in East Germany. The fall of the Berlin wall serves only as a backdrop to the maturing of the young protagonist. So as not to ostracise his audience writer/director Becker wisely and cleverly, doesn’t side with either East German communism or West German capitalism but instead, skilfully crafts a bittersweet satire and nostalgic tale of life from both sides of the country. He’s also helped immeasurably by two emotionally understated performances from his lead actors; Daniel Bruhl and Katrin Saas.
I was aware of this film when it was released but it should never have taken me as long as it has to get around to viewing it. Now, I’m just glad and hope that others don’t make the same mistake of ignoring this profound and poignant pleasure.
Mark Walker
MARKED MOVIES 
June 17, 2012 at 8:24 pm
Great review Mark, you made me really curious to check out this one. I appreciate Daniel Brühl’s performance in Inglourious Basterds, but haven’t seen him in anything else since. The subject matter here is quite intriguing, thanks for bringing this to my attention.
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June 17, 2012 at 9:47 pm
You’re welcome Ruth. It really is a special treat. One that has a mixture of emotions coursing through it but ultimately heartwarming. I loved it.
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June 17, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Wow… this seems like an undiscovered gem. I just discovered one of those as well… http://moviereviewer96.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/review-its-kind-of-a-funny-story/
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June 18, 2012 at 12:59 am
Alec, this was apparently the biggest grossing european film of 2003. I’m very surprised that it hasn’t reached a wider audience because of that. It certainly deserves to.
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June 18, 2012 at 8:58 am
Sounds like a film i NEED to see!!! Thanks Mark for the excellent review!
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June 18, 2012 at 9:09 am
A fantastic film Scott. It really captured me. I don’t know why I put this off for so long.
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June 19, 2012 at 5:05 am
Great review, man! Found it very helpful, actually. I had heard a lot of praise for this one but had no idea what the plot was or the style.
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June 19, 2012 at 8:54 am
Thanks Fernando. It’s a great little film. I’d heard good things of it also but I never expected to enjoy it as much as I did.
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June 19, 2012 at 11:41 pm
Mark, I’m adding this to my “want” list right now. Sounds pretty spectacular
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June 19, 2012 at 11:46 pm
It’s brilliant Andy. A real refreshing and original piece if cinema. The Germans aren’t normally known for lighthearted comedies but this is a winner. It was supposedly the highest grossing european film of 2003, so it was quite successful on it’s release yet very few seem to have seen it.
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June 22, 2012 at 9:19 pm
Nice review Mark. Gotta check this out.
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June 22, 2012 at 9:24 pm
Cheers man! It’s well worth a peek. I loved it. If you’ve seen “Amelie” then you should enjoy this. (If you’ve not seen “Amelie” then you should see that as well) 😉
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June 23, 2012 at 12:38 am
Oh yes, I liked Amelie a great deal. Been trying to catch up to it again.
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June 23, 2012 at 6:17 am
You should enjoy this one then. Like I mention in my write-up. It doesn’t have the fantasy element that Amelie has but is just as originally done.
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June 28, 2012 at 7:26 pm
Brilliant Review. I have yet to see this film but unfortunately where I come from it’s sometimes hard to get your hands on some great films. I have read about it a lot in the past. Loved Amelie too… More than Hollywood I am more interested in foreign films because they have a variety… My mom would love this, Merci Boucoup.
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June 28, 2012 at 8:25 pm
Thanks again Mithil. Yeah, I really enjoyed this one. It didn’t quite match the beauty of Amelie but reminded me very much of it. It’s a shame that a lot of people will find it hard to get hold of, it’s a little gem of a film.
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June 29, 2012 at 6:28 am
I hope the Criterion Collection includes this in their collection.
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