Good Bye Lenin! (2003)

In 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma, a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared.

Director:

Wolfgang Becker

Writers:

Bernd Lichtenberg, Achim von Borries (collaborator on screenplay)

Stars:

Daniel Brühl, Katrin Saß, Chulpan Khamatova

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 36 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Brühl	...	Alex
Katrin Saß	...	Mutter
Chulpan Khamatova	...	Lara
Maria Simon	...	Ariane
Florian Lukas	...	Denis
Alexander Beyer	...	Rainer
Burghart Klaußner	...	Alex' Vater
Michael Gwisdek	...	Klapprath
Christine Schorn	...	Frau Schäfer
Jürgen Holtz	...	Herr Ganske
Jochen Stern	...	Herr Mehlert
Stefan Walz	...	Sigmund Jähn
Eberhard Kirchberg	...	Dr. Wagner
Hans-Uwe Bauer	...	Dr. Mewes
Nico Ledermueller	...	Alex - 11 Jahre (as Nico Ledermüller)

Storyline

East Germany, the year 1989: A young man protests against the regime. His mother watches the police arresting him and suffers a heart attack and falls into a coma. Some months later, the DDR does not exist anymore and the mother awakes. Since she has to avoid every excitement, the son tries to set up the DDR again for her in their flat. But the world has changed a lot.

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Plot Keywords:

coma | german democratic republic | capitalism | political activism | german reunification | 

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Taglines:

Die DDR lebt weiter -- auf 79 qm!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brief language and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Russian writer Olga Slavnikova has released a bestseller novel "Bessmertnyj" in October 2001, which has a similar plot as the movie. The story in the book is about an elder citizen of Ekatirenburg, who is a paralyzed veteran of WW2. His daughter tries to make his life easier by creating him an alternative world, which is ruled by the Soviet party, which requires recreation of video material about the USSR. Also the man dies by an infarct. Because of the similarities, Slavnikova announced that she will sue the creators of "Good Bye Lenin!" for plagiarism. However a trial has not been done, which was also advised by the Russian media to Slavnikova not to do it. Futhermore the movie filming was already in progress when the book was released, which means, the screenplay was ready before the book was released.

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Goofs

When Alex first enters the hospital to pay a visit to his mother, there are modern green emergency exit signs.

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Quotes

Alexander Kerner: The future lay in our hands. Uncertain, yet promising.

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Crazy Credits

Renowned German actor Jürgen Vogel plays the chicken in the supermarket and is credited as "Das Küken" ("young chicken").

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Connections

References Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

User Reviews

A beautiful portrayal of family and politics

The concept of this movie, which is that a young man has to do all in his power to stop his mother who is recovering from a heart attack learning of what's happened to Germany while she was in a coma, is absolutely delicious, but it's a premise that could easily go wrong. However, I'm pleased to report that it certainly didn't go wrong, and through interesting characterisation, a great script and some thought-provoking ideas; Good Bye, Lenin! is a winner all the way! An excellent ensemble gives way to a story that has a lot of heart, and one that makes it's points - both politically and otherwise - without the use of a sledgehammer. Good Bye, Lenin! is one of those films that is what you make of it; on the one hand, it's a touching and entertaining story of a boy's journey into adulthood and his love for his mother, but on the other hand; it's a biting political satire that intertwines themes of how our perception of certain truths can impact our lives.

Daniel Brühl, a young Spanish talent, takes the lead role as 'Alex', the young man at the centre of the tale. Through his subtle acting, Daniel is able to capture the determination and adoration that epitomise his character wonderfully. He is joined by the beautiful Chulpan Khamatova, Maria Simon and Alexander Beyer, who lend support to Brühl, as his girlfriend, sister and sister's boyfriend respectively, along with Kathrin Sass, who takes the central role of the mother recovering from a heart attack. I can't pick a single fault with any one of them. The setting of the fall of the Berlin Wall serves as a great place to set this story, as it allows the film to give a commentary on the changes of Germany's political landscape at the same time as allowing us to take in themes of family, love and the perception of truth that are abundantly clear. There aren't many bad things that I can say about it, and the only one really is that it can be a bit over sentimental at times. On the whole, however, Good Bye, Lenin! is an absolute treat and most certainly one of the better movies to have been released so far this decade.

Details

Official Sites:

German Cinema Archive Océan Films [France]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German English Russian

Release Date:

14 May 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Good Bye Lenin!

Filming Locations:

Studio Berlin Adlershof, Am Studio 20, Adlershof, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

EUR4,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$57,968, 29 February 2004

Gross USA:

$4,064,200

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$79,316,957

Company Credits

Production Co:

X-Filme Creative Pool, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), ARTE

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1