Goodbye Lenin! (2003)

Director: Wolfgang Becker
Writers: Bernd Lichtenberg, Wolfgang Becker
Cast: Daniel Brühl, Katrin Saß, Chulpan Khamatova,
Maria Simon, Florian Lukas, Alexander Beyer & more
Release Date: 13 February 2003 (Germany)
Awards: Nominated for Golden Globe; 32 wins & 14 nom.
User Rating: 7,8/10

Review: "In 1990, in East Germany, the devoted socialist mother (Katrin Saß) of Alex (Daniel Brühl) and Ariane (Maria Simon) has an infarct and stays in coma for eight months. When she wakes, her doctor advises the family that her heart is weak and any problem could kill her. With a debilitated heath, her son understands that she would not support to acknowledge the end of her ideology and dream. Alex decides to hide the fall of the Berlin Wall and simulates in her bedroom that life has not changed in the recently integrated nation.

The situations are dramatic and funny at the same time. This movie is simply wonderful! The screenplay uses drama, comedy, history and politics, supported by a fantastic direction and an outstanding cast, to show the situation of a generation who fought for and believed in the socialism, in their leaders and in the party, and suddenly sees the end of their dreams, and the next generation, avid for consumption. One of the most important point of 'Good Bye Lenin!' is the neutrality of the director, never defending or criticizing the socialism or the capitalism. Therefore, there is no manipulation along the story, trying to defend a system against the other. The dichotomy between the former and the new economical system is presented by the character Ariane, 'who left the university to sell hamburgers', as per the definition of Alex. Another great attraction of this film are the footages of that period of our contemporary history. My vote is ten."
Written by Claudio Carvalho (imdb.com)