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Bernd Lichtenberg (written by) and
Wolfgang Becker (co-author)
13 February 2003 (Germany) more
Die DDR lebt weiter -- auf 79 qm! more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 31 wins & 14 nominations more
London Film Critics Snub 'Rings'
(From Studio Briefing - Film News. 13 February 2004)
Film Sweeps Germany's Oscars
(From Studio Briefing - Film News. 13 June 2003)
clever and amusing comedy more (206 total)
| Daniel Brühl | ... | Alexander 'Alex' Kerner | |
| Katrin Saß | ... | Christiane Kerner (as Kathrin Sass) | |
| Chulpan Khamatova | ... | Lara | |
| Maria Simon | ... | Ariane Kerner | |
| Florian Lukas | ... | Denis | |
| Alexander Beyer | ... | Rainer | |
| Burghart Klaußner | ... | Robert Kerner | |
| 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) | |
| Jelena Kratz | ... | Ariane - 13 Jahre | |
| Laureen Hatscher | ... | Baby Paula - 1 Jahr (as Laureen) | |
| Felicitas Hatscher | ... | Baby Paula - 1 Jahr (as Felicitas) | |
| Martin Brambach | ... | Stasi 1 | |
| Michael Gerber | ... | Stasi 2 | |
| Robert Störr | ... | Funktionär Ordensverleihung | |
| Philipp Kupfer | ... | Baby Paula - 3 Monate | |
| Ernst-Georg Schwill | ... | Taxifahrer | |
| Rainer Werner | ... | Stasi in Jeansjacke | |
| Marc Bischoff | ... | Junger Stationsarzt | |
| Horst-Dieter Stork | ... | Grenzer 1 | |
| Hartmut Kuley | ... | NVA-Offizier | |
| Peter Kurth | ... | 'X-TV' Chef | |
| Ditmar Bieseke | ... | Grenzer 2 | |
| Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey | ... | Fahrer Krankenwagen | |
| Dirk Prinz | ... | Beifahrer | |
| Jürgen Vogel | ... | Das Küken | |
| Elke Werner | ... | Verkäuferin HO-Markt | |
| Regina Ziebach | ... | Gurkenfrau | |
| Wolfgang Stein | ... | Gurkenmann | |
| Mennan Yapo | ... | Flohmarktverkäufer | |
| Maximilian Brunow | ... | Pionier Sascha | |
| Bojan Heyn | ... | Pionier Niko | |
| Fritz Roth | ... | Pförtner Coca-Cola | |
| Armin Dillenberger | ... | Bankangestellter | |
| Denys Darahan | ... | Pionier Christian | |
| Bastian Lang | ... | Pionier Frank | |
| Lothar Schlichthar | ... | Dicker Mann am Pool | |
| Alexander Reed | ... | Wuppertaler | |
| Ute Michel | ... | Frauenärztin (as Dr. Ute Michel) | |
| Svea Timander | ... | Vaters neue Frau | |
| Hanna Schwamborn | ... | Carla | |
| Rafael Hübner | ... | Thomas | |
| Michael Berge | ... | Partyredner | |
| Rey Agana | |||
| Marcel Bellin | |||
| Aandrea Bork | |||
| Angelo Bossert | |||
| Christiane Brauer | |||
| Igor-Immanuel Bruckhaus | |||
| Mimmo Catania | |||
| Toni Filler | |||
| Meike Frerichs | |||
| Marc Geiselhart | |||
| Charline Gülle | |||
| Leonore Haberkorn | |||
| Bjoern Heinrich | |||
| Torsten Heyroth | |||
| Jasmin Hoffmann | |||
| Clemens Holzendorff | |||
| Susann Hotze | |||
| Wasin Jung | |||
| André Kindzorra | |||
| Dieter Kraft | |||
| Jörn Itzeck | |||
| Simone Kruse | |||
| Kai-Quin Liang | |||
| Fred Luck | |||
| Karoline Metzig | |||
| Utz Neumann | |||
| Christoph Olonczik | |||
| Marakorn Praphawat | |||
| Pham Quang | |||
| Sebastian Raehse | |||
| Michelle Reed | |||
| Jacqueline Schachmann | |||
| Angelika Schmegg | |||
| Wolfgang Schreiber | |||
| Florian Seiffge | |||
| Michael Stübing | |||
| Christian Trautsch | |||
| Adrian Wolff | |||
| Andreas Thieck | ... | SFB-Nachrichtensprecher (voice) | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Guido Buchwald | ... | Himself (archive footage) | |
| Erich Honecker | ... | Himself (archive footage) | |
| Sigmund Jähn | ... | Himself (archive footage) | |
| Klaus Augenthaler | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Willy Brandt | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Lothar de Maizière | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Hans-Dietrich Genscher | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Mikhail Gorbachev | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Raisa Gorbachev | ... | Herself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Hannelore Kohl | ... | Herself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Helmut Kohl | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Egon Krenz | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Lothar Matthäus | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Erich Mielke | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Walter Momper | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Karl-Heinz Riedle | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Eduard Shevardnadze | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Sarah Tkotsch | ... | Mitglied des Pionierchors (uncredited) | |
| Angelika Unterlauf | ... | Herself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Rudi Völler | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Chris Waddle | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Wolfgang Becker | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Bernd Lichtenberg | written by and | |
| Wolfgang Becker | co-author | |
Produced by | |||
| Stefan Arndt | .... | producer | |
| Katja De Bock | .... | producer | |
| Marcos Kantis | .... | line producer | |
| Paul Müller | .... | line producer | |
| Andreas Schreitmüller | .... | producer | |
| Manuela Stehr | .... | co-producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Yann Tiersen | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Martin Kukula | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Peter R. Adam | |||
| Antje Zynga | (uncredited) | ||
Casting by | |||
| Simone Bär | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Lothar Holler | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Matthias Klemme | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Aenne Plaumann | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Birger Laube | .... | makeup artist: "Sigmund Jähn" | |
| Lena Lazzarotto | .... | makeup artist | |
| Heike Merker | .... | makeup artist | |
| Björn Rehbein | .... | hair stylist | |
| Björn Rehbein | .... | makeup artist | |
| Sabine Schumann | .... | makeup artist: second unit | |
| Madeleine Spremberg | .... | additional makeup artist | |
Production Management | |||
| Milanka Comfort | .... | unit production manager | |
| François Doge | .... | unit production manager | |
Art Department | |||
| Ulrich Christian | .... | property master | |
| Andrea Eisensee | .... | set dresser | |
| Holger Isenberg | .... | construction manager | |
| Claudia Kiefer | .... | props: second unit | |
| Christian Schaefer | .... | set designer | |
| Kay Scziegel | .... | props (as Kay-Uwe Scziegel) | |
| Timo Scziegel | .... | art department runner | |
| Harald Serowski | .... | art director: reshoots | |
| Wolfgang Wrede | .... | painter | |
| Marco Pressler | .... | construction manager (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Christoph Dudek | .... | sound | |
| Lars Ginzel | .... | sound effects editor | |
| Jochen Isfort | .... | first boom operator | |
| Dirk Jacob | .... | sound designer | |
| Kai-Uwe Koch | .... | adr editor | |
| Frank Kruse | .... | foley editor | |
| Torsten Löhn | .... | assistant sound | |
| Martin Müller | .... | sound: second unit | |
| Michael Müller | .... | foley editor | |
| Jörn Poetzl | .... | foley artist | |
| Alexander Schaefer | .... | second boom operator | |
| Wolfgang Schukrafft | .... | sound | |
| Philipp Sellier | .... | foley recordist | |
| Kuen-Il Song | .... | sound effects editor | |
| Martin Steyer | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Kai Tebbel | .... | sound editor | |
| Christoph Ulbich | .... | voiceover recordist | |
| Susy Wehrli | .... | sound: second unit | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Sven Asamoa | .... | special effects | |
| Thorsten Thiesse | .... | special effects | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Max Hattler | .... | digital compositor | |
| Manfred Kraemer | .... | lead 3D artist | |
| Natalie Maximova | .... | visual effects | |
| Moritz Peters | .... | digital effects artist | |
| Sven Pohle | .... | visual effects | |
| Andreas Schellenberg | .... | visual effects supervisor | |
| Bastian Schreitling | .... | visual effects | |
| Florian Schroeder | .... | digital artist | |
| Gerhard Spring | .... | scanning and recording | |
| Dominik Trimborn | .... | scanning and recording | |
| Gunnar Wittig | .... | visual effects | |
Stunts | |||
| Mattias Bark | .... | stunts | |
| Mario Linse | .... | stunts | |
| Sascha Meissner | .... | stunts | |
| Jason Oettle | .... | stunts | |
| Katja Richter | .... | stunts (as Katja Keya Richter) | |
| Steve Thiede | .... | stunts | |
| Rainer Werner | .... | stunt coordinator | |
Casting Department | |||
| Iris Müller | .... | extras casting | |
| Kirstin Plotz | .... | casting assistant | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Antje Hentze | .... | additional costumer | |
| Anne Kerstan | .... | wardrobe | |
| Barbara Koeppl | .... | wardrobe | |
| Petra Langer | .... | additional costumer | |
| Uta Müller | .... | additional costumer | |
| Heidrun Schlüter | .... | additional costumer | |
| Christine Seehofer | .... | assistant costume designer | |
| Frank Specht | .... | wardrobe: second unit | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Sam Daley | .... | colorist: high definition mastering | |
| Jessica Ehlebracht | .... | assistant editor | |
| Patricia Ferbeck | .... | negative cutter | |
| Charly Huser | .... | color timer | |
| Boris Mang | .... | post-production coordinator | |
| Traudl Nicholson | .... | color timer | |
| Antje Zynga | .... | assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| Xaver Naudascher | .... | composer: additional score | |
| Xaver Naudascher | .... | score mixer | |
| Wolfgang Richter | .... | composer: song "Unser Sandmännchen" | |
| Andro Steinborn | .... | music supervisor | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Alexander Müller-Lenhartz | .... | production driver | |
Thanks | |||
| Sigmund Jähn | .... | special thanks | |
| Edda Reiser | .... | thanks | |
| Tom Tykwer | .... | special thanks | |
79 qm DDR (Germany) (working title)
Goodbye Lenin! (International: English title)
more
Rated R for brief language and sexuality.
121 min | Argentina:112 min
Black and White (archive footage) | Colour
1.85 : 1 more
Iceland:L | Ireland:15 (IFCO) | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:M (DVD rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Canada:G (Québec) | Chile:TE | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:R | Peru:PT | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Portugal:M/12
Sigmund Jähn gave permission to be featured in the movie, but refused to play himself. It was very difficult to find an actor who looked like Jähn and spoke his typical dialect but after filming had begun, Wolfgang Becker chose Swiss actor Stefan Walz. He was given complex make-up and was dubbed by another actor who came from Jähn's home region, the Vogtland. more
Anachronisms: A bottle of red Blanchet brand wine is shown, but when the wall came down, there was only Blanchet white wine. more
[last lines]
[spoiler]
Alexander Kerner:
[voiceover] My mother outlived the GDR by three days. I believe it was a good thing she never learned the truth. She died happy. She wanted us to scatter her ashes to the winds. That's prohibited in Germany, both East and West. But we didn't care.
[launches rocket]
Alexander Kerner:
She's up there somewhere now. Maybe looking down at us. Maybe she sees us as tiny specks on the Earth's surface, just like Sigmund Jähn did back then. The country my mother left behind was a country she believed in; a country we kept alive till her last breath; a country that never existed in that form; a country that, in my memory, I will always associate with my mother.
more
Features "Unser Sandmännchen" (1958) more
Comptine d'Un Autre Été: L'après Midi more
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| Die Stille nach dem Schuß | Across the Universe | La historia oficial | Das Leben der Anderen | El diputado |
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Just as Rip Van Winkle slept through the American Revolution and woke up twenty years later to find himself a citizen of a brand new country, so Kathrin Sass, an East German woman, slips into a coma on the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall only to wake up eight months later a member of a capitalist society. This is the premise of 'Good Bye Lenin,' a clever and affectionate tale about truth, love and family ties that transcends all national borders and boundaries.
Kathrin, a woman who has dedicated her life to the perpetuation of Communist Party ideology, suffers a major heart attack that plunges her into a comatose state a few months prior to the dissolution of the land she knows as East Germany. While she is 'asleep,' governments tumble, barriers crumble and a whole new tide of Western goods and values comes flooding eastwards to a ravenous, eagerly awaiting public. Then she wakes up. Fearing that the shock of finding such a radically changed world will lead to a second heart attack, her loving son, Alex, devises an elaborate scheme to shield her from the truth and to make her believe that the world she lives in now is the same world she knew eight months before (the basic premise is not that different from the one in 'Jacob the Liar').
'Good Bye Lenin!' is an amusing regional comedy that derives its laughs from two basic sources: the near-slapstick nature of the charade Alex is attempting to perpetrate, and the script's satirical view of a society rushing madly to embrace the joys of unbridled consumerism they have been so long denied. Given its gimmicky premise, 'Good Bye Lenin!' could have emerged as a one-joke comedy were it not for the fine sense of irony and absurdity that writer/director Wolfgang Becker (working with co-writer Bernd Lichtenberg) has brought to the project. In addition, young Daniel Bruhl as Alex and Katrin Sab as Kathrin deliver expert, moving performances that go to the very essence of the mother/child relationship.
I must confess that this film, despite its generally upbeat tone, brings with it a certain rueful sadness that the filmmakers may not exactly have intended. Could it really have been a mere fifteen years ago that the events depicted in this film actually happened - a mere fifteen years ago that the future of the human race seemed so full of joy, hope and promise? Now, in a post 9/11 world - where sectarian hatred and international terrorism rule the day - this image of people coming together to cast off the shackles of bondage and embrace freedom seems already like a quaint memory from the long distant past. In a strange way, the film has become something of a relic in its own time, outstripped by a world that has long since moved on to bigger and more dire concerns. 'Good Bye Lenin' reminds of just how long ago and far away the Cold War really was.