|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| GOOD BYE LENIN! (2003) | |
|
|
The
young man, Alex (Daniel Bruhl), is being brutally arrested by the police
in DDR days before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The mother
Christiane (Katrin Sass), who is heavily involved in the political party,
witnesses the arrest of her son, which leads to her having a severe heart
attack and coma. When Alex is released from prison
and finds out that his mother is in a coma and while she is in this coma the
Berlin Wall falls. Germany unites at the same time as Coca Cola,
MacDonalds, and other western multinational companies enter the former
DDR. It is a tough time for the people of the former DDR as they
are forced into deflation of currency, unemployment, and poverty.
The world as Alex's mother once knew is suddenly gone when she miraculously
awakened from her coma. An unqualified doctor that has remained
within the former DDR informs Alex that his mother could die from sudden shock. The mothers condition leads the film into a comical, yet serious roller coaster where good intentions, fear, and love drive Alex's decisions. The decisions that Alex makes brings to the film a nostalgia of the former DDR's good intentions in politics as well as Alex's own vision of utopia. The utopia that Alex creates is based on equality, fairness, and goodness without Stasi, the former secret police in DDR that functioned by having one informant per 100 citizens. Alex even fabricates the idea that Coca Cola is an invention by the DDR in order to protect his mother's health. Good Bye Lenin! is a warm film with the notion of a better world projected in order to save one person. This idea is noble and it works very well as it brings the audience a sincere idea of utopia. This utopian vision is based on a large number of lies, which has a symbolic meaning related to human nature. In the end, Good Bye Lenin! offers a brilliant cinematic event. |
|
DIRECTED BY |
|
|
COUNTRY |
|
|
Germany |
|
| REVIEWED | |
| 8/27/2004 | |
| GRADE | |
 |
|
|
|
The Internet Movie Database. |
