Goodbye Lenin (2003)

Goodbye Lenin (2003)

This German film by Wolfgang Becker in 2003 was one of my favorites that we watched in my AP European History class. It stars Daniel Brühl as Alex Kerner, Chulpan Khamatova as his girlfriend Lara, and Katrin Saß as Alex's ill mother. It is a stunning story of a young man (Alex) who loves his mother enough to create a world that centers specifically on her beliefs and values. When his mother, a communist supporter and volunteer, has a heart attack after seeing Alex clubbed in a protest, he dedicates his time to helping her recover. Even though Communism is falling, he pretends that it is still alive and well to prevent her from having another shock and heart attack. Billboards clutter the walls of buildings and giant air balloons float by advertising some new thing, but Alex manages to keep her safely in an unchanged world. He needs as much help as he can get, so he employs his sister, new girlfriend,neighborhood boys in a version of the boy scouts, as well as his estranged father who was forced to leave the country when Alex was just a boy. Despite all the help, Alex still has trouble keeping the secret, especially with the whole country changing over to a new political system and leaving Communism in the dust.
Wolfgang Becker used many techniques in this film, but the most obvious and powerful was his exaggeration of the western invasion. There were huge coca-cola signs plastered everywhere, Burger King clips throughout, and images of fat westerners stuffing their faces. This dramatic choice is there to prove that one system might not be as good as another and they all have their flaws. It satirically shows how westerners can be bought and pleased very easily with junk food, while the Alex is struggling to find old brands of food for his mother. However, even though Alex was somewhat horrified of Burger King for this reason, his mother’s dependence on a specific brand name is the same. It plays around with irony and point of view. The whole movie keeps a lighthearted tone throughout, even though it is based on a very insecure time for many. This choice works with the rest of the humor and gives the viewer a break from the political issues.
As I said, this was one of my favorites because it showed the innocence of a family and how it can change just from the world around them. The film was very artfully done and was full of subtle humor. I give this four A’s and would definitely see it again.