Sun Alley (1999)
"Sonnenallee" (original title)

A group of kids grow up on the short, wrong (east) side of the Sonnenallee in Berlin, right next to one of the few border crossings between East and West reserved for German citizens. The ... See full summary »

Director:

Leander Haußmann

Writers:

Thomas Brussig (screenplay), Leander Haußmann (screenplay),

Stars:

Alexander Scheer, Alexander Beyer, Robert Stadlober

6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alexander Scheer	...	Michael 'Micha' Ehrenreich
Alexander Beyer	...	Mario
Robert Stadlober	...	Wuschel
Teresa Weißbach	...	Miriam Sommer
Detlev Buck	...	ABV
Katharina Thalbach	...	Mutter Ehrenreich
Henry Hübchen	...	Vater Ehrenreich
Ignaz Kirchner	...	Onkel Heinz
Annika Kuhl	...	Sabine Ehrenreich
Elena Meißner	...	Sabrina
Horst Lebinsky	...	Grenzer
Martin Moeller	...	Kosscke
Patrick Güldenberg	...	Appel
David Müller	...	Brötchen
Margit Carstensen	...	Direktorin

Storyline

A group of kids grow up on the short, wrong (east) side of the Sonnenallee in Berlin, right next to one of the few border crossings between East and West reserved for German citizens. The antics of these kids, their families, of the "West German" friends and relatives who come to visit, and of the East German border guards, all serve to illustrate the absurdity of everyday life on the Sonnenallee, and therefore throughout the former East Germany.

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Plot Keywords:

border | border crossing | border guard | east germany | passport control | 

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Taglines:

Party in WILD WILD East.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Delphi Filmverleih GmbH

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

7 October 1999 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Sun Alley

Filming Locations:

Aula of Carl von Ossietzky Gymnasium, Pankow, Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ö-Film, Sat.1, Boje Buck Produktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Leander Haußmann claims that the film is not based upon Thomas Brussig' novel. According to Haußmann, he, Brussig and Detlev Buck had written the screenplay together, and Brussig had written his novel afterwords.

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Connections

Referenced in Good Bye Lenin! (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen"
Performed by Nina Hagen

User Reviews

East Side Story

I've seen Sonnenallee in a small European film fest in Ottawa in the fall of 2001. This film is another reason to blame commercially-driven distributors for the lack of variety in our movie theaters. Here is a funny, daring film about life in Communist East Berlin in the 70s that would not have found its way to our screens but thanks to innovative festival programmers. It took courage to even think about making a comedy (with musical overtones, no less !) on such a subject. Yet, thanks to energetic direction, an enthusiastic cast, and some truly memorable ideas (the scene with the multi-table is a real gem, and the take on West Berliners probably well deserved !), Sonnenallee will stay in your minds for a long time. And the joyful finale, complete with East Berliners dancing their way up to the infamous wall, makes you wonder why the film was not also titled : East Side Story.