Eine Liebe in Königsberg (2006 TV Movie) User Reviews

A usual movie - and an unusual one

[Esselgeh · 7/10 · 2 April 2006]

At first, Wolfgang Stumph is one of my favorite actors since I watched him in "Go Trabi Go" when I was quite small. This is the "official" movie for his 60th birthday. The result is a movie that is like 1,000 other German TV movies - and, on the other hand, is special. In the last years (and even before) there were enough movies broadcast by German television which were about German family stories in relationship to the eventful history of 20th century Germany. However, this movie marks a new beginning - it is the first German movie which was filmed in the former East Prussia after the German population was expelled between 1944 and 1946. So it can be seen as a sign of the new way of Russian-German relations in the last years. And even Dresden, which is the second city featured in this movie, contains some "new beginning" mentality when the Frauenkirche is shown which was rebuilt for years and reopened some months before.

Thanks to Chulpan Khamatova ...

[t-schwarz · 6/10 · 3 April 2006]

... this movie is not a complete disaster for anyone under 60. Seriously, it has become impossible to be fair to TV movies produced by ZDF without knowing that their audience is approaching 60, on average. This movie is no different. It's another movie about the German past in what was east Prussia until 1945, about the wounds the war has caused for Russians and Germans, and how suffering in the end brought together the decent people from sides. Unfortunately, the movie is neither truly dealing with the subject intellectually (the only notable quote in this context being - "there is no mathematics of guilt - maybe not, but it is always important to look at the beginning") nor is it emotionally convincing. Wolfgang Stumph's acting isn't really convincing for someone suddenly being forced to discover his own roots and have his identity challenged.

Chulpan Khamatova is playing his young beautiful female guide in Kaliningrad, and, in an excruciating plot move, falls in love with the chubby foreigner who's not at all interested in her, and just to make the whole thing completely ridiculous, follows him back to Germany in the end where his son is instantly attracted to her. Seriously, I think someone should be punished for subjecting Chulpan to these parts of the script.

All in all, I think this is a decent movie to watch with your grandparents, or great-grandparents, if you'd like to talk to them about the past, just to ease in on the subject. Otherwise, Chulpan is the only reason to watch this film - but then again, for that, you could also watch Goodbye Lenin again.