Good Bye Lenin!
Good Bye Lenin was a film released in 2003 by director and writer Wolfgang Becker, co written by Bernd Lichtenberg. Although in German, the film received a following in many countries, with it being shown in theatres and able to be purchased on DvD in over 30 countries, and was shown in many more film festivals around the world.The film depicted the zeitgeist of Germany in the late 80s and showed a hilarious, touching and gut wrenching story of a son's love for his mother, and the ideals of a socialist family.
Synopsis
The year is 1989 and East and West Germany are still divided. Alex (Daniel Brühl) and his sister Ariane (Maria Simon) live in East Germany with their single mother, Christiane (Katrin Saß) who is a staunch Socialist. When Alex's mother witnesses his arrest on a protect march, she suffers a heart attack and falls into a coma for eight months, just in time for the Berlin wall to come tumbling down along with all of East Germany's ideals.Eight months later, Christiane wakes up and things have changed. The doctors warn Alex that any shock could bring on a fatal heart attack. He then realises he must convince his mother that her beloved Communism has not been overthrown but is in fact triumphing over Capitalism. Alex then sets out to recreate every detail of the old East inside the four walls of their tiny council flat...what begins as a little white lie, soon turns into a major deception with hilarious consequences!
Synopsis from the DvD case
Cast
Daniel Brühl - Alexander 'Alex' Kerner
Katrin Saß - Christiane Kerner
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 (at 11 years old)