Good bye, Lenin! is a German tragic comedy film, released internationally in 2003. It can be seen as part of the ostalgie movement. Directed by Wolfgang Becker, the cast includes Daniel Brühl, Katrin Saß, Chulpan Khamatova, Maria Simon and Florian Lukas. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (447x657, 101 KB)Good bye, Lenin! film poster File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Wolfgang Becker was born in 1954 in Hemer/Westphalia and studied German, History and American Studies at the Free University in Berlin. ... Wolfgang Becker was born in 1954 in Hemer/Westphalia and studied German, History and American Studies at the Free University in Berlin. ... Daniel Brühl and Katrin Saß in Good bye, Lenin! Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo (born June 16, 1978 in Barcelona, Spain), usually credited as Daniel Brühl, is a German actor. ... Katrin Saß (born October 23, 1956) is a German actress. ... Chulpan Khamatova as the Russian nurse Lara with Alex, whom she falls in love with, in Good bye, Lenin! Chulpan Nailyevna Khamatova (Russian: Чулпан Наилевна Хаматова, born October 1, 1975) is a Russian film and TV actress. ... Maria Simon (born 1976 in Berlin) is a German actress. ... Alexander Beyer (born June 24, 1973 in Erfurt) is a German actor. ... Yann Tiersen at a concert the 25th November 2005 (Fri-son festival, Fribourg, Switzerland). ... Sony Pictures Classics is the specialty films division of Sony Pictures. ... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The euro (symbol: €; banking code: EUR) is the single currency of the following twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain; collectively also known as the eurozone. ... Tragicomedy (or dark comedy or black comedy) refers to fictional works that blend aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ostalgie is a German term (the English equivalent would be eastalgia) referring to nostalgia for life in the former East Germany. ... Wolfgang Becker was born in 1954 in Hemer/Westphalia and studied German, History and American Studies at the Free University in Berlin. ... Daniel Brühl and Katrin Saß in Good bye, Lenin! Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo (born June 16, 1978 in Barcelona, Spain), usually credited as Daniel Brühl, is a German actor. ... Katrin Saß (born October 23, 1956) is a German actress. ... Chulpan Khamatova as the Russian nurse Lara with Alex, whom she falls in love with, in Good bye, Lenin! Chulpan Nailyevna Khamatova (Russian: Чулпан Наилевна Хаматова, born October 1, 1975) is a Russian film and TV actress. ... Maria Simon (born 1976 in Berlin) is a German actress. ...

Story overview

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. This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... National motto: none Official languages German Capital East Berlin Largest city East Berlin Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 106th 108,333 km² Negligible Creation -Unified 7 October 1949 3 October 1990 Currency East German mark Time zone  â€“ in summer CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2) National anthem Auferstanden aus Ruinen Internet...

• Tagline: "The German Democratic Republic lives on – in 79 m²!" (Die DDR lebt weiter – auf 79 qm!)

It has been suggested that strapline be merged into this article or section. ...

Cast

• Daniel Brühl – Alexander Kerner
• Katrin Saß – Christiane Kerner
• Chulpan Khamatova – Lara
• Maria Simon – Ariane Kerner
• Florian Lukas – Denis Domaschke
• Alexander Beyer – Rainer
• Burghart Klaußner – Alex's father
• Michael Gwisdek – Klapprath
• Christine Schorn – Frau Schäfer
• Jürgen Holtz – Herr Ganske
• Jochen Stern – Herr Mehlert
• Stefan Walz – a taxi-driver who looks very much like Sigmund Jähn
• Eberhard Kirchberg – Dr. Wagner
• Hans-Uwe Bauer – Dr. Mewes
• Nico Ledermüller – Alexander Kerner (11 years old)

Daniel Brühl and Katrin Saß in Good bye, Lenin! Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo (born June 16, 1978 in Barcelona, Spain), usually credited as Daniel Brühl, is a German actor. ... Katrin Saß (born October 23, 1956) is a German actress. ... Chulpan Khamatova as the Russian nurse Lara with Alex, whom she falls in love with, in Good bye, Lenin! Chulpan Nailyevna Khamatova (Russian: Чулпан Наилевна Хаматова, born October 1, 1975) is a Russian film and TV actress. ... Maria Simon (born 1976 in Berlin) is a German actress. ... Alexander Beyer (born June 24, 1973 in Erfurt) is a German actor. ... Sigmund Werner Paul Jähn (born February 13, 1937) was the first German cosmonaut. ...

Plot

The film is set in the East Berlin of 1989 to 1992. The premise of the film is that Alexander Kerner's mother, Christiane Kerner, an ardent supporter of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany falls into a coma shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall, following a heart attack she suffered when she saw Alex being arrested in an anti-government demonstration. After eight months she comes out of the coma, but is very weak both physically and mentally, and doctors say that any shock may cause another attack. The film depicts the attempt by her family, who think that the events of the fall of the wall would be too much for her to bear, to maintain the illusion that things are as normal in the GDR. To this end, they revert the flat to its previous drab communist-era decor, dress in their old clothes, and find old labelled food jars and place western products in them. Since Christiane is bedridden, the deception works for a while, but becomes increasingly complicated and elaborate. Despite everything, Christiane occassionally witnesses strange occurrences, such as a gigantic Coca-Cola advertisment banner unfurling on a building outside her apartment. Alexander and a friend with film-making ambitions edit old tapes of news broadcasts and create their own fake special reports to explain away some of the strange occurrences. East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX in Roman) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII in Roman) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... The logo of the SED The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, or SED) was the governing party of East Germany from its formation in 1949 until the elections of 1990. ... Remnant of the Berlin Wall near Potsdamer Platz, June 2003 The Berlin Wall (German: Die Berliner Mauer) was a long barrier separating West Berlin from East Berlin and the surrounding territory of East Germany. ... National motto: none Official languages German Capital East Berlin Largest city East Berlin Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 106th 108,333 km² Negligible Creation -Unified 7 October 1949 3 October 1990 Currency East German mark Time zone  â€“ in summer CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2) National anthem Auferstanden aus Ruinen Internet... The wave shape (known as the dynamic ribbon device) present on all Coca-Cola cans throughout the world derives from the contour of the original Coca-Cola bottles. ...

In one surreal scene, Christiane wanders outside the flat while Alex is asleep, and sees all her neighbours' old furniture piled up in the street for garbage collection, a car dealer selling BMWs instead of Trabants. Then, a huge military helicopter flies past carrying the upper half of an enormous statue of Lenin, which at an angle appears to be offering Christiane his hand. Alex and his sister find her and take her back to the flat. Later, Christiane is unsure if the experience was imagined or not. BMW AG (an abbreviation for Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, or in English, Bavarian Motor Works), is a German company and manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. ... Trabant is an automobile brand formerly produced by East German auto maker Sachsenring. ... Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. ...

A subplot involves the earlier defection to the West of Alexander's father when Alexander was a child, an event which apparently drove his mother temporarily insane, and which prompted her ardent supporter of the party. Later it is revealed that the defection was planned by them both, but she bailed out to protect her children. Alexander's sister, now working in a Burger King drive-through, one day sees her father with a new family. Christiane later admits the deception and Alexander goes to find his father, partly for himself and his sister, and partly to honour Christiane's dying wish that she see him one last time. On the way, Alex meets his childhood hero, Sigmund Jähn, the first German in space - now driving a taxi. A subplot is a series of connected actions within a work of narrative that function separately from the main plot. ... Sigmund Werner Paul Jähn (born February 13, 1937) was the first German cosmonaut. ...

Christiane relapses, and is once again taken to the hospital. Under pressure to reveal the truth about the fall of the East, Alexander creates one final fake film segment. Alexander convinces Sigmund Jähn to appear as the new leader of East Germany, and gives a speech promising to make a better future by opening the borders to the West. Christiane is very impressed by the "broadcast", but in fact already knows the truth, as Alexander's girlfriend revealed everything when Alexander was not around. By this time Alexander has recreated the GDR in his own image for her benefit, and it is this that she is really impressed by, but does not want to hurt him by revealing that she knows the real truth. The tables are turned completely, and it is Alex who is being protected from reality. Christiane dies soon afterwards, and Alex never knows that she did, in the end, know the truth. Sigmund Werner Paul Jähn (born February 13, 1937) was the first German cosmonaut. ...

Overview

Alexander and the Russian nurse Lara (Chulpan Khamatova), whom he falls in love with

The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see discussion on the talk page.

The film is a wonderful commentary about truth and deception, but is also a finely acted comedy and an exercise in nostalgia. Just as Alex is deluding his mother, she has been deluding the children all her life about their father, and in the end is the one deluding Alex that she is still in the dark about his deception. All of the delusions are done with the very best of motives, and can be seen as a metaphor for the GDR's attitude to its own citizens. The film also makes clear that, in hindsight, the fall of the wall and the reunification of Germany was perhaps carried out with undue haste, and in doing so did not permit the East German state to die with dignity. Alex's deceptions at least allow his mother to die with dignity, and each of them is a metaphor for different aspects of the East German state, with its routine deceptions, but unduly hasty demise. The film deliberately plays into the hands of those who nostalgically feel that somehow the "old days" were better than what followed, and in the end, the final deception is the one played on the audience. Image File history File links Khamatova. ... Image File history File links Khamatova. ... Chulpan Khamatova as the Russian nurse Lara with Alex, whom she falls in love with, in Good bye, Lenin! Chulpan Nailyevna Khamatova (Russian: Чулпан Наилевна Хаматова, born October 1, 1975) is a Russian film and TV actress. ... Image File history File links Stop_hand. ... West Germany and the GDR German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) took place on October 3, 1990, when the areas of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, in English commonly called East Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, in English commonly called West Germany). After the GDRs...

Soundtrack

Main article: Good bye, Lenin! (soundtrack album)

The music is composed by Yann Tiersen with the exception of the non-instrumental version of Summer 78 sung by Claire Pichet. Stylistically, the music is very similar to Tiersen's prior work on Amélie. Good bye, Lenin! is the original soundtrack album of the film of the same title starring Daniel Brühl and Katrin Saß. The music is composed by Yann Tiersen, with the exception of the non-instrumental version of Summer 78 sung by Claire Pichet. ... Yann Tiersen at a concert the 25th November 2005 (Fri-son festival, Fribourg, Switzerland). ... Released in 2001, Le Fabuleux Destin dAmélie Poulain (The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain), or Amélie, as it is known in the English-speaking world, is a quirky French romantic comedy, or a modern fairy tale, starring Audrey Tautou. ...

Alexander and Denis working on a video

Image File history File links Alex_and_Denis_-_Goodbye_Lenin. ... Image File history File links Alex_and_Denis_-_Goodbye_Lenin. ...

Trivia

• Alexander Beyer, who plays Rainer, Ariane's wayward boyfriend, also played a major role in the previous blockbuster "Ostalgie" film, Sonnenallee in 1999. In Good bye, Lenin!, he plays a former West German inhabitant who constantly mocks the former East German inhabitants. In Sonnenallee, he played an East German who constantly made fun of West Germans.
• Most of the scenes were shot at the Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin and around some Plattenbauten at Alexanderplatz.
• Much confusion was caused by Denis' t-shirt, which appeared to bear the green glyph pattern from The Matrix. The Matrix appeared in 1999, whereas the film was set between 1989 and 1990. A deleted scene on the DVD eventually solved this mystery. The scene featured Denis, an amateur film-maker, telling Alex about his idea for a film, where people were enslaved by machines to produce energy for them while they were trapped in a computer dream world - an obvious reference to the aforementioned film. There is a common theme of keeping people in a simulated reality.
• In the hospital scene after Christiane has her first heart attack, Ariane is shown in a chair solemnly playing a dirge on a child's plastic recorder while her comatose mother lies beside her. The tune she plays is a variation on Zbigniew Preisner's "Song for the Unification of Europe". This is an homage to (or perhaps a parody of) a similar hospital scene in Krzysztof Kieślowski's Bleu.
• The film includes scenes from East German child programmes like Sandmännchen.

Alexander Beyer (born June 24, 1973 in Erfurt) is a German actor. ... Sonnenallee(1999) German comedy about life in East Berlin in the 1970s. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Boulevard Karl-Marx-Allee The Karl-Marx-Allee is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the young GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. ... Plattenbau in Rostock, East-Germany Plattenbau is the German word for a building whose structure is constructed of large, prefabricated concrete slabs, often found in central and eastern Europe. ... Alexanderplatz from Fernsehturm Alexanderplatz is a large open square and public transport hub in central Berlin, near the Spree river and the Berliner Dom. ... The Matrix is a science-fiction/action film first released in the USA on March 31, 1999, written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski. ... Simulated reality describes a hypothetical environment that, although experienced as real, is actually a highly detailed simulation of reality. ... Zbigniew Preisner Zbigniew Preisner (born May 20 in Bielsko-Biała, 1955) is one of Polands leading film score composers, best known for his work with director Krzysztof Kieślowski. ... Krzysztof Kieślowski (June 27, 1941 Warsaw, Poland – March 13, 1996 Warsaw) was an influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for his film cycles Three Colors and The Decalogue. ... For other uses, see Blue (disambiguation) Blue is one of the three primary additive colors; blue light has the shortest wavelength range (about 420–490 nanometers) of the three additive primary colors. ... Sandmännchen (Little Sandman) is a German childrens bedtime television programme, produced by a film technique known as stop motion animation, in which puppets are moved by very small amounts between individual frames, producing the effect of motion when the film is played back, as in conventional drawn and...

External links

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Good bye, Lenin!

• Official site (in German)
• Promotional website in English
• Good bye, Lenin! at The Internet Movie Database