"We don't get to see a lot of films on life behind the iron curtain these days, and "Good bye Lenin!" manages to give us quite a good peek from a more light-hearted perspective. Overall it is a nice flick, though I am sure it would have worked even better had there been more subtlety and witty humor." Geeky Marcus NATURAL BORN VIEWERS "In short, Good Bye, Lenin! is an enjoyable, occasionally moving feel-good comedy drama, despite a slow middle section and an overlong running time. Worth watching." Matthew Turner VIEW LONDON "this is a rather poignant semi-drama whose slightly daft surface masks a strong subcurrent of elegy, indicated by Yann Tiersen’s score, whose mournful tinkly-keyboards themes echo (deliberately?) another tale of mother-child devotion, The Piano. As with the Yugoslav drama Absolute Hundred, Good Bye Lenin! looks back with partial fondness, through the prism of family relationships, to a pre-capitalist era which, though relatively recent, now seems startlingly alien." Neil Young MOVIE LOUNGE "This is a very clever film, as director-co-writer Wolfgang Becker intelligently and artistically uses the period and weaves the historic themes into a gently comic tale that takes us to this remarkable time and place. The characters are so well written and played that we immediately identify with them all... Becker has the skills to weave in a tender and somewhat complex romance, as well as some emotional moments that catch the back of our throats... The nature of the truth in restoring relationships is very subtly woven in here, and it's powerful stuff indeed." Rich Cline FILM THREAT

"Hailed as Best European Film at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival, "Good Bye Lenin!" looks destined to become one of Germany's biggest international hits. Wolfgang Becker's film about one man's attempt to make history stand still is a tragi-comic journey into political upheaval and personal worries. Taking wry pot-shots at the monolithic ideologies of Communism and Capitalism, Becker turns this family's crisis into a symbol of Germany's own attempt to heal old wounds and rebuild itself." Mark Stevens BBCi FILMS "Beneath a concept of protecting the defenceless from political reality lies the emotional trauma of coping with loss and betrayal. For fear of sounding so boring you want to eat your socks, let it be said at once that Wolfgang Becker's film oozes charm." The Wolf IOFILM "Becker, director of the justifiably successful Life Is All You Get (an in-joke cameo by Jürgen Vogel nods to the earlier film), is expert at depicting comic insecurity and is in his element here. Good Bye, Lenin! could have remained at the level of farce and contented itself with riding the current wave of partly fetishistic 'ostalgie' among an audience who may have been children in the GDR and grown to maturity in post-unification Germany. Instead it becomes increasingly emotionally intricate without sacrificing humour or accessibility to non-German audiences." Richard Falcon SIGHTS & SOUND "The attention to detail in both setting and characters makes Goodbye, Lenin! a joy to watch. Becker has a great knack for visuals too, incorporating stylistic tricks like speeding up shots with memorable images of a country hit by rapid change, such as a succession of hastily abandoned apartment buildings or Alex scattering worthless currency to the wind. After Enlightenment Guaranteed and Martha’s Kitchen, Goodbye, Lenin! is further proof, if any were needed that Germany is the source of some of the most hilarious and surprising comedy out there." Matt McAllister FUTURE FILM UK

At A Glance

"The film’s poignancy comes from the knowing performances of Saß and Klaussner as Alex’s parents. Refreshing comic relief comes from Florian Lukas as Denis, Alex’s aspiring filmmaker co-worker. The essence of the film is warm nostalgia; you’ll come away knowing more about East Germany’s wallpaper and gherkin labels than its recent history." Stephen Groenewegen eFILMCRITIC

It was the senation of 2003 in Europe and Britian and after seeing "Goodbye, Lenin!" it's not hard to see why. The film which won at total of six 2003 European Film Awards in December last year, including the European Film Award for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Screenplay is very entertaining indeed. "Goodbye, Lenin!" beat Steven Frear's "Dirty Pretty Things", "Swimming Pool", Lars Von Trier's "Dogville" and Michael Winterbottom's celebrated film, "In This World" at the European Film Awards and then went on to win the Peoples Choice Awards for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress. And hows this for a box-office mania, in Germany 6 million people have been to see the film and it's the second highest grossing foreign film to be screened in Britian. While we westerners have a preoccupation with the Oscars it should be remebered that to the European community these awards are their equivalent. And "Goodbye, Lenin!" is in good company when it comes to winning the awards. Previous winners include such beauties as "Amelie", "Talk To Her", "Life Is Beautiful" and the classic British winner, "The Full Monty". But the accolades don't stop there. You see, "Goodbye Lenin" became the first film to win all three Peoples Choice Awards when Wolfgang Becker [Best Director], Daniel Bruehl [Best Actor]and Katrin Sass [Best Actress] scooped the pool. Daniel Bruehl Best Actor awards in both categories said, "The film was like a history lesson for me". And for many who go to see "Goodbye Lenin" there is a history lesson to be learnt behind its cuttingly funny but poignant tale.
A dear friend of mine who experienced the war as a little girl and then the seperation of Germany happened to be on holidays in Berlin when the wall came down. It was a monumental moment for her. She had escaped the communists as a twenty year old and then, after a stint in a refugee camp made her way to Australia. Later he sister joined her and then her aging mother who they jointly sponsored. It was a sight she never expected to see in her lifetime, although she did hope it would happen one day. For someone who had suffered so much during the allied bombings, the near starvation as food dwindled and the seperation from those relatives who survived WW2, seeing the wall come down must have been a most exhilarating moment. Her description of the euphoria and how people were grabbing pieces of the wall as souvenirs, the laughing and crying, cheering and congratulating each other is very moving. And let's face it, there were manny of us who have never experienced anything but freedom who were extremely moved by the falling of the wall and the events preceeding it. Journalist Matthas Kalle recalls that moment he describes as the date of death, November 9th 1989. "I sat there in front of the TV, just as I'd done during the Olympic Winter Games, and I saw people dancing on the wall and laughing and crying." The Wall was tumbling down and soon the citizens of East Berlin would flood into the west to discover a whole new world. The transition hasn't been easy from repression to freedom and some people question whether in fact they have a new found freedom at all. On October 3rd 1990 the German Democratic Republic ceased to exist. A few days later Kalle was on a field trip to Berlin. "The city was a different one from the one it was when I visited my godfather and the country too, was different," he recalls. "They might have had the best ski jumpers, but now, the wanted to be here and live like us," he said before adding, "for ten years I stumbled through the new Germany, but I never really got there. I studied in Leipzig, worked in Munich and two years ago I moved to Berlin, but I didn't stay long. Something went wrong." "Goodbye, Lenin!" is a clever, witty satirical look at one East German family and the trauma they face when their much loved socialist mother suffers a heart attack and is subsequently comatized during the period in which the Berlin Wall falls. Unfortunately her heart is so weak that even the slightest shock could kill her, let alone discovering the massive changes her country is going through. There are laughs gallore, both subtle and outrageous in this sometimes dark comedy as her son sets out to deceive her into thinking that nothing has changed. It's a labour of love, deception for her own sake. There's a solid cast, geat direction and a real sense of being there, waiting to discover what lengths Alex and his cohorts will go to in an attempt to keep the charade up. The storyline is easy to follow, the subtitles are clear and "Goodbye Lenin" is never tiresome. An excellent example of the best of foreign film.
"Goodbye, Lenin!" was directed and co-written by Wolfgang Becker ["Butterflies", "Scene Of The Crime", "Blood Sausage Waltz" and "Life Is All You Get"] and stars Daniel Brühl ["Deeply", "No More School', "Honolulu" and "Vaya con Dios"], Maria Simon ["Passing Summer", "Portrait of a Married Couple", "Distant Lights" and "Luther"], Chulpan Khamatova [" Time of the Dancer", "Moon Father", "Tuvalu" and "England!"], Florian Lukas ["Trial by Fire", "Gigantic", "Girls On Top" and "Planet of the Cannibals"], Alexander Beyer ["The Big Mambo", "The Legends of Rita", "Half the Rent" and "The Family Jewells"], Burghart Klaußner ["Child's Play", "The Super Wife" and "Crazy"] and Katrin Sass ["The Fiancee", "Trial by Fire" and "Heidi M"] as mother. The Story

"Director Wolfgang Becker never heads for cheap hits and his use of archival footage and subtle shifts in tone gives the film a depth and understanding of the times rarely delivered in films today." Chris Stead FILMINK

Alex's mother is a proud party member, a real socialist through and through. Her dedication to the cause is about to be rewarded at a special awards ceremony. But on the way she witnesses an altercation between a group of protesters and the hardline police. She suffers a heart atttack and lapses into a coma. It's October 1989 and the winds of change are blowing across the GDR. Eight months later she awakes. The news is not good. Any shock could kill her. Poor mothers heart is terribly weak. Her devoted son Alex is faced with a real dilemma. Freedom has come to the city. The symbol of the socialist regime, the Berlin Wall, has fallen, east Germans are flooding out of the city and western symoblism is bringing huge changes. Her must protect his mother lest the shock kills her. With the help of his sister, neighbours he decides to dupe his mother into thinking nothing has changed. He comes up with some ingenious methods, but how long will his luck last. How long can he keep his mother from the brave new world? The Verdict "Very funny, very clever and very entertaining. The storyline will keep you intrigued as Alex looks for new ways to keep the decline of the GDR from a socialist society to one embracing decadent western ideals. "Goodbye, Lenin!" is a real treat. A funny, yet poignant tale of deception." The Cast

Daniel Brühl Katrin Sass Maria Simon Chulpan Khamatova Florian Lukas Alexander Beyer Burghart Klaußner Michael Gwisdek Jürgen Holtz Jelena Kratz Christine Schorn Ernst-Georg Schwill Andreas Thieck Jürgen Vogel Stefan Walz Mennan Yapo

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Alexander Kerner Mrs Christiane Kerner Ariane Kerner Lara Denis Rainer Mr Robert Kerner Direktor Klapprath Ganske Ariane [13y.o] Frau Schäfer Taxifahrer News speaker's voice Das Küken Sigmund Jähn Flea Market Salesman

The Crew Directed by Wolfgang Becker Written by Wolfgang Becker & Bernd Lichtenberg Produced by Stefan Arndt Original Music by Yann Tiersen Cinematography by Martin Kukula Film Editing by Peter R Adam Casting by Simone Baer Production Design by Daniele Drobny & Lothar Holler Costume Design by Aenne Plaumann Run Time 121 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2003 - X FILME - All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2004 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved