October, 1989 was a bad time to fall into a coma if you lived in East Germany – and this is precisely what happens to Alex’s proudly socialist mother. Alex has a big problem on his hands when she suddenly awakens eight months later. Her heart is so weak that any shock might kill her. And what could be more shocking than the fall of the Berlin Wall and the triumph of capitalism in her beloved East Germany? To save his mother, Alex transforms the family apartment into an island of the past, a kind of socialist-era museum where his mother is lovingly duped into believing that nothing has changed. What begins as a little white lie turns into a major scam as Alex’s sister and selected neighbors are recruited to maintain the elaborate ruse – and keep her believing that Lenin really did win after all!
Five years after his award-winning Das Leben ist Eine Baustelle (Life is All You Get), filmmaker Wolfgang Becker presents GOOD BYE, LENIN! Fast and funny, intriguing and touching, Becker tells a story that is as unique as it irresistible, an alternative history to that of the recent German past: a human story of the reunification not only of an entire nation, but of a family living in East Berlin. Cast as the two leads are performers who have each won the German Film Award, Daniel Brühl (Das Weisse Rauchen [The White Noise], Schule [No More School]) and Katrin Sass (Heidi M.). They are wonderfully supported by Russian actress Chulpan Khamatova (Luna Papa, Tuvalu), newcomer Maria Simon, Alexander Beyer (Sonneallee [Sun Alley]) and Florian Lukas (Absolute Giganten [Gigantic]). GOOD BYE, LENIN! also features original music by the French composer Yann Tiersen (Amelie, The Dreamlife of Angels).
(112 votes)
2.
Contemporary comedies rarely stretch themselves beyond a bickering romantic couple or a bickering couple and a bucket of bodily fluids, which makes the ambition and intelligence of Goodbye, Lenin! not simply entertaining but downright refreshing. The movie starts in East Germany before the fall of communism; our hero, Alex (Daniel Bruhl), describes how his mother (Katrin Sass), a true believer in the communist cause, has a heart attack when she sees him being clubbed by police at a protest. She falls into a coma for eight months--during which the Berlin Wall comes down. When she awakens, her fragile health must avoid any shocks, so Alex creates an illusive reality around his bedridden mother to convince her that communism is still alive. Goodbye, Lenin! delicately balances wry satire with its rich investment in the lives of Alex, his mother, and other characters around them.
On the DVD: Though the DVD extras for Goodbye Lenin! include a detailed featurette on the digital effects used in the movie (particularly intriguing because they had to be completely invisible--many viewers won't realize there were digital effects until they see this featurette) and a convivial cast commentary (in German with English subtitles) with Daniel Bruhl, Katrin Sass, and Alexander Beyer, the star of the DVD is director Wolfgang Becker himself. Not only is his commentary rich with historical information and thoughtful notes about the making of the movie, for the deleted scenes (including two lovely scenes that expand on the relationship between Alex and his girlfriend Lara) he and Tom Tykwer (director of Run Lola Run and part of the X Filme collective that produced Goodbye Lenin!) have an insightful conversation about the editing process, storytelling, and the essence of watching a movie. Utterly fascinating, and invaluable to any aspiring filmmaker. --Bret Fetzer
(113 votes)
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