User Reviews

Goodbye Lenin!: Protecting a Mother’s Sanctuary in a Collapsing World250112 (3.5)In a miserable storm where everything is being washed away, Alexander Kernar desperately fights to protect the "Santa Claus" of his mother’s fragile world. It is heartbreaking to see how witnessing his mother’s mental breakdown as a child has effectively mortgaged this young man’s entire life. Set in 1978, the story begins when Alex’s father, Robert, defects to West Germany, leaving behind his wife, Hanna, and their children. Hanna, a dedicated teacher and patriot, suffers an eight-month breakdown but eventually emerges as a zealous supporter of East Germany. Ten years later, in the summer of 1989, Alex participates in a freedom protest and catches the eye of a Russian exchange student named Lara. However, Hanna sees her son being arrested, suffers a heart attack, and falls into a coma—missing the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.When Hanna wakes up eight months later, the doctor warns that any sudden shock could trigger a fatal stroke. Thus, Alex begins an elaborate "Truman Show" within their apartment to convince his mother that East Germany still exists. He scours trash bins for old GDR-branded food jars, enlists his filmmaker friend Denis to produce fake news broadcasts, and even hires neighbors to play the roles of loyal socialists. The film captures the tragic irony of the era: while the world rejoices over reunification, Alex is tearing up worthless East German marks that his mother hid and forgot due to her dementia. The emotional core peaks when Alex learns the truth—his father didn't just abandon them for another woman; Hanna was supposed to defect with him but stayed behind out of fear. Alex’s devotion is a byproduct of the trauma of "saving" his mother since childhood. He eventually recruits an East German hero-turned-taxi driver to deliver one final fake broadcast, allowing his mother to pass away peacefully, believing in a dignified end for her beloved country. It is a masterful, bittersweet portrayal of how far we go for those we love.

Cela fait immanquablement penser à notre bon vieux Hibernatus remis dans le contexte de la réunification allemande et si De Funès n’est pas là pour vociférer qu’on « va sur la lune avec un insecte », Good Bye Lenin a ses nombreux moments de pure comédie enjouée et tout à fait drolatique. Ses acteurs et actrices sont excellents, la mise en scène fait preuve d’une belle rigueur mais le scénario bien que très inventif se traîne sensiblement, surtout vers la **** film peine à se conclure et ses moments dramatiques (de cette famille déchirée par le rideau de fer) se vautre un peu trop régulièrement dans une guimauve de mauvais aloi. En outre, le film se laisse aller à une nostalgie suspecte vis-à-vis des enfoirnazes de communistes et de cette république démocratique de pacotille, pays-satellite sous le joug de la dictature soviétique pendant des décennies. Nonobstant ces écueils, il reste un film tout à fait regardable et assez divertissant et assurément plein de clins d’oeil.

Interesting story with a very good screenplay. The movie is not a comedy, but more a drama, that shows how 1990 changed the life of a family in east berlin.

Una buena historia sobre la reunificación alemana; muy dramática y conmovedora. ¡TOTALMENTE RECOMENDADA!

The Cold War was marked, at the European level, by the "Iron Curtain", which included the division of Germany into two halves: the capitalist West Germany and East Germany, in line with USSR. The division existed until the fall of the Berlin Wall and divided families, cultures, mentalities and ways of life. In this movie, a young man decides to pretend that East Germany still exists, months after reunification, to spare his mother, a fierce socialist who has just woken up from a coma. We are facing a true masterpiece of cinema. It's one of those fun and clever movies we've seen once and we want to see it again as soon as it's over. However, its not exactly a comedy, or at least not in its entirety. The film has some drama and the story of that family, especially that mother, is truly harsh, difficult and paradigmatic of a changing world. That mother represents well the past, and the pains of those who lived under a dictatorship, with difficulties and bitterness to which she had to turn around, while her emancipated, independent, creative and irreverent children manage to embody the aspirations **** that is eager for change, tired of decades of forced immobility. Another thing that strikes the eye is the speed with which everything changes, the almost dramatic and rough way in which the GDR falls and becomes Westernized. The cast is made up of illustrious strangers to me, who am not a connoisseur of German cinema, but I think they were up to the challenge and did very well with what they were asked to do. The director, Wolfgang Becker, has achieved here his greatest work as a filmmaker. On a technical level, I especially highlight the careful photography, good camera angles, the way the movie played with color, light and shadow, the clever way it used scraps of television news and original archive material. Nor can I fail to highlight the extraordinary original soundtrack, by Yann Tiersen, who had been notable, two years earlier, with "Amelie" soundtrack. Fairly nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film (which he lost to an Afghan film), its hard to believe as it was not even nominated for the Oscar in the same category. Who can explain Hollywood, do it! But who needs prizes anyway? This film has achieved immortality for its merit and quality, while many of those who receive awards end up forgotten a few years later.

The sociopolitical changes of Eastern Germany in 1990 through the perspective of the victims of changes. Stir of comedy and drama about how to survive transition no matter if implies white lies. One of best of recent German cinema.

For every country there is a film, or several films, which truly represent their country of origin – for example “Amélie” for France, or perhaps the James Bond series for Britain. In my opinion, the film “Good Bye, Lenin!” fills this space for Germany, not only because of its historical setting. This film contains one of Daniel Brühl’s earliest roles as Alex – later, he featured in such films as Inglorious Basterds and Rush. His portrayal of his character in this film, however, is only one part of a fantastic cast – particularly notable are Katrin Sass (who was already a well-known actress before Germany’s reunification) as Alex and Ariane’s bedridden mother Christiane, and Burghart Klaussner as their father Robert. The powerful portrayals of every character in this film, collectively, are one of the main reasons why this film is so believable. The feelings shown give a sense of immersion – you’re right there with Alex through all the confusion, happiness, pride and sadness. The film is set directly before and after the reunification of Germany, however this historical setting is merely a background which supports the real plot – and said plot is a delicious mix of humour, drama and tension as Alex attempts to recreate the GDR for his mother, and also learns through this what his mother actually believed in – not necessarily the GDR’s government, but socialism as an ideal. In that sense the film touches on the “Ostalgia” which many former east Germans felt after the fall of the Wall by showing a different, rarely-seen perspective of the reunification, not only through Alex and his experiences, but also with the others who were once respected, but who are now out of work and feel worthless as a result – this serves to make the historical setting even more believable. Perhaps one could also say that Christiane serves as a metaphor for this “ostalgia”, in that she is kept in the past by Alex, and doesn’t realise that the GDR no longer exists as a result. All in all, “Good Bye, Lenin!” is not only a masterpiece of film, but also a wonderful culturl achievement. Original, exciting and tragic, it could possibly be described as the German Film of the 21st century.

a big and strong story that remind us the truth of what happen' in Europe. The way that the story was told was the best and made this movie something fabulous and something great!