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Storyline
East-Berlin, 1961, shortly after the erection of the Wall. Konrad, Sophie and three of their friends plan a daring escape to Western Germany. The attempt is successful, except for Konrad, who remains behind. From then on, and for the next 28 years, Konrad and Sophie will attempt to meet again, in spite of the Iron Curtain. Konrad, who has become a reputed Astrophysicist, tries to take advantage of scientific congresses outside Eastern Germany to arrange encounters with Sophie. But in a country where the political police, the Stasi, monitors the moves of all suspicious people (such as Konrad's sister Barbara and her husband Harald), preserving one's privacy, ideals and self-respect becomes an exhausting fight, even as the Eastern block begins its long process of disintegration. Written by
Eduardo Casais <eduardo.casais@research.nokia.com>
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Taglines:
Eine Liebe, eine Hoffnung, eine Mauer.
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Quotes
Sophie:
You wall in a whole country, then you pop over here for a cup of coffee.
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Portraying several friends separated by the Berlin Wall, "Das Versprechen" - called "The Promise" in English - hits you right where it hurts. I thought that it was very interesting how the movie picks up about every ten years, showing the historical context each time (specifically the sign saying "Victory to the Vietnamese Revolution" in 1968, during Prague Spring). To my generation, the Berlin Wall remains part of history (I was only five when it fell), so we have to rely on movies like this to understand the whole thing. All in all, director Margarethe von Trotta did a very good job here, as did the whole cast. Definitely worth seeing.