Lichter (2003)

Director:

Hans-Christian Schmid

Writers:

Michael Gutmann (writer)
Hans-Christian Schmid (writer)

Release Date:

31 July 2003 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Willkommen in der Wirklichkeit

Plot:

This movie reflects on the situation around the border between Poland and Germany. The fate of many...

Plot Keywords:

Border | Taxi Driver | Poland | Illegal Immigration | German Frontier

Awards:

14 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Andrzej Górak	...	LKW Fahrer
Anna Yanovskaya	...	Anna (as Anna Janowskaja)
Sergei Frolov	...	Dimitri (as Sergej Frolov)
Bartek Wójtowicz	...	Petja
Ivan Shvedoff	...	Kolya
Andrej Liousikov	...	Oleg
Sergey Kalantay	...	Flüchtling
Nikolaus Kieselmann	...	Flüchtling
Juri Konkov	...	Flüchtling
Woytec Klimkowicz	...	Flüchtling
Boris Raskin	...	Flüchtling
Jana Pfeffer	...	Flüchtling
Martin Kiefer	...	Marko
Peter Obermann	...	Zollbeamter
Alice Dwyer	...	Katharina

Also Known As:

Distant Lights (International: English title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | Polish | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Frankfurt an der Oder, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

Arte

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Kinomagazin: An der Grenze - Der Film 'Lichter' von Hans-Christian Schmid und Michael Gutmann" (2003)

Situations are the same, no matter where.

I've seen the movie just a month ago in a foreign film program in my city. I live in Juarez City, just in the border between Mexico and USA and let me tell you something that a good friend told me about it: "is the best movie I ever seen about Juarez city". Situations are the same and are truly reflected on the screen the reality on millions and millions of persons worldwide. It's very common to see persons trying to go to the other side of the river to get the "American dream" and in the mid time histories like the ones reflected on the movie took place every single day. The screenplay is very simple, and characters were well developed during the film. The most touching history was the "mattress guy". The actor transmits very deep emotions and exactly the same situation lived a good friend of mine here, miles away. Another strong history was the one related with the Ukrainian immigrants. Every year, hundreds of persons die in this city in their attempt to go to the other side, just miles away, were the lights are reflecting a different nation and in consequence different opportunities. The cast of actors were well selected and performances were simple, but convincing. This is the first film I saw from Schmid but I have to thank him for this extraordinary movie. As I think, there is no need to have a high budget to deliver a good film and this is another example that sometimes the simple is the best. Characters that could be identified with real people in real situations. At the end, the last scene defines and summarizes all the history: life is so strange and we can be touched by simple people forever. By films like this is why I like the movies.