Good Bye, Lenin! movie review

aelst's review

Nice funny show about the fall of the Berlin wall. The main character's mother falls into a coma before the wall is destroyed, and wakes up months after. In order to avoid a relapse, she must not be stressed, so he goes on an elaborate plan for the next few weeks to hide the fact the wall has fallen. He does this because his mother was a devout socialist.

As the movie goes on the we see the main character learn and develop - some parts are narrated by him so we know what he's thinking. Plenty of other characters, and loads of funny scenes. Overall the movie is a bit depressing.

Funny coincidence is that the next Simpsons episode I watched had a similar joke in it, where someone crossed over to East Germany, instead of fleeing to the West.

4 out of 5 stars

ratbag's review

"Good Bye, Lenin!" is about lies -- whether or not they are good is up to the viewer to decide.

When Alex's mother, a staunch socialist, falls into a coma just before the Berlin wall is taken down, Alex decides to recreate an alternative Germany when she regains consciousness to shelter her from the shock of the social change. However, with the increasing consumerism, corporatisation and modernisation, Alex finds it increasingly difficult to maintain his lies, and acquiring his mum's favorite brand of local pickles becomes near impossible. The make-belief world becomes increasingly incredible as Alex has to explain to his mother why the West Germans were rushing to move into East Germany.

Good, harmless, light entertainment.