A bunch of friends (mostly women) were deciding what to watch, and I was not at all interested in some foreign feel-good movie... and I'm glad my friends decided to ignore my objections. I was expecting something like Il Postino (a chick flick); what I saw was a movie I had to buy and add to my library to watch again. It really is that good.

The many rave reviews already describe in great detail the film, the quality and the story line, so I won't go into that; all I have to add is that it's entertaining, touching and has all the makings of a classic film. If you're wondering whether or not you'll like it, trust me: you will.

When I was about the same age as the main character in this film, I had a couple of East German pen pals and had the chance to visit them in East Germany about a year before the events of this movie. I was very interested in the topic of the movie. I like the portrayal of the different takes. You have the older people who miss some of the stability of their previous life, those who wouldn't necessarily go back but don't like all of the trappings of western society, and the young who adapt to western culture even though it isn't as perfect as it might have seemed. The premise of the story is interesting too. It's funny to see how the son tries to maintain the appearance of the old East Germany even as it slips away. The only thing I didn't like about the film is that by the end, the storyline seems to wander or get a bit old. Still, this is a great movie and something definitely a bit different if you are looking for a good foreign film.

This movie tells the story of a family living in East Germany at a time of great political and social change. It explores many facets of love, lies and politics: the bond between a mother and her son, the love of kids for their mother compared to her love for them, the mistakes and lies of parents as compared to lies of children, politics and the economy ruling people's life, and love that actually rules every thing.

My words will not adequately describe this movie; you won't regret watching it! The son and the mother are both great actors who make you cry and laugh at the same time.

The wounds of a family and a nation are told through the marvelous acting of the mother and son. Watch the silly details as the son's little lie takes on a life of its own, and the irony of meeting his childhood hero, who is drawn into the son's web of lies. Watch the son creating his own East Germany; very funny and very powerful.

Such a wonderful movie, a lovely and new story played by great actors and delivered by good director.

Wolfgang Becker's 2003 film, Good Bye Lenin!, is not a great film, but it is far better than the usual Hollywood tripe, as well as being a cut above most independent films released by filmmakers not named John Sayles. The two hour long film was written by Becker, Bernd Lichtenberg, Hendrik Handloegten, Christoph Silber, and Achim von Borries, and has a unique, if strained premise- that as the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 a devout East German Communist flunky, Christiane Kerner (Katrin Saß), who lived in East Berlin fell into a coma after a heart attack and when she woke eight months later, her whole world changed, but her devoted son decides to recreate the fallen state so as to not be such a great shock to his mother's system.
While the machinations that the son, Alex Kerner (Daniel Brühl- a better looking Ashton Kutcher), his girlfriend Lara (Chulpan Khamatova)- a Russian nurse who was tending to Christiane, sister Ariane (Maria Simon), brother-in-law Rainer (Alexander Beyer), and neighbors go to reveal an occasional chuckle, the film could really have been something special- and great, had it played the drama closer to reality. This is not to say that there are not sweet and funny moments, but they cannot compare with such a great premise and the potential for a real exploration into the human psyche and politics' place within it could have provided. That said, the film, as is, is a very good one, and the acting is stellar. So is how the film deftly avoids falling into being a screed or one dimensional propaganda piece against Communism. We can see the failings of that system when we see how Alex struggles to get a certain type of pickle brand, Spreewald pickles, so his mother will not know the difference. When we see him and his friend Denis (Florian Lukas) ridiculously try to simulate old East German tv newscasts we see how self-defeating a system that denies ingenuity and individuality is. To wave that about as a club is bastardizing the art of the film. If only more artists would learn what Becker's film knows.
What makes Good Bye Lenin! work as a film is not its political implications, nor the political setup, but the human moments, and it is the relative lack of them vis-à-vis the film's length that make the film both a joy and bit of a disappointment, for it seems to be a mix of the old television movie of the week formula from the 1970s and a European arts film, and does not fully succeed either way. The film's lack of poesy is its greatest flaw. But, taken as it is, Good Bye Lenin! is a most worthwhile film and a good chronicle of a clan in an era now passed, long passed, it seems. If other films failed as well as this one does, well, would not success really be a thing?

This film has been reviewed many times here so I won't recap the story elements but simply say that this is a wonderful, warm and moving film that I will watch again many times!