Amazon.com: Contemporary comedies rarely stretch themselves beyond a bickering romantic couple or a bickering couple and a bucket of bodily fluids, which makes the ambition and intelligence of Good bye, Lenin! not simply entertaining but downright refreshing. The movie starts in East Germany before the fall of communism; our hero, Alex (Daniel Bruhl), describes how his mother (Katrin Sass), a true believer in the communist cause, has a heart attack when she sees him being clubbed by police at a protest. She falls into a coma for eight months--during which the Berlin Wall comes down. When she awakens, her fragile health must avoid any shocks, so Alex creates an illusive reality around his bedridden mother to convince her that communism is still alive. Good bye, Lenin! delicately balances wry satire with its rich investment in the lives of Alex, his mother, and other characters around them. Funny, moving, and highly recommended. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Interesting but drawn out
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 ... Read More
Rating: - "Lie to me, I promise, I'll believe" -Sheryl Crow
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, ... Read More
Rating: - Underrated
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 ... Read More
Rating: - An All Time Favorite
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!
Rating: - On "Socialist" Lies
Some things are painful in life. As a life-long anti-Stalinist, pro-socialist militant the demise of the Democratic Republic of Germany and its theory of "socialism in half a country" and later, on its heels, ... Read More
- Interesting but drawn out
- Underrated