Good Bye, Lenin! (2003)

I first knew about this movie when I browsed a blog that I often visit, and later I found it is listed as the 2ndGerman movie one should watch from Lonely Planet – Germany . From Lonely Planet, this film is described as a comedy set around the fall of wall. I partially agree this since I am not sure if it is a comedy, or, a tragedy which is comedy-like. (p.s. just wiki and found it is categorized as tragicomedy there lol, okay, I accept this)

Extracted from Wiki:

“In October 1989, right before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Alex Kerner is living with his mom, Christiane and sister. But when the mother, a loyal party member, sees Alex participating in an anti-communist rally, she falls into a coma and misses the revolution. After she wakes, doctors say any jarring event could make her have a heart attack, meaning the family must go to great lengths to pretend communism still reigns in Berlin.”

I love Germany especially the cultural- history of Berlin so this plot is attractive for me. The movie succeeded in showing the contrast between East and West Germany from the politics belief (way citizens spoke & jargons used), clothing, consumer goods brands etc. Some of the senses are quite crazy for me (who watched black comedy for 1st time), like Alex twisted the history of W. and E. Germany, by using the real news clips and reporting it in another way (LOL…), quite reflective as I realized this may be happening in real life nowadays. Meanwhile, the techniques in movie filming, lighting and editing are interesting too.

If you are interested to know more about Germany’s post WWII history in a huma/cultural way, I would recommend this film as well as The Lives of Others, one of my all-time favourite (and also top one from Lonely Planet list).