(Review originally written at 10 June 2006)
The fall of the Berlin Wall and the years before that, already seems to be a sort of forgotten piece of history. Even though it all occurred no more then 17 years ago it already seems like ancient history to the rest of the world, although it still affects German people in several ways to this very day and East and West are still two sort of divided group of people. It's an important part of the 20th century history that we perhaps don't hear or learn enough about.
It seems like a hard task to make a movie involving around the fall of the Berlin wall. "Good Bye Lenin!" however manages to the story from a very original point of view and gives the story some original twists. It makes the story interesting and entertaining to watch as well. "Good Bye Lenin!" manages to create its own style and atmosphere which makes the movie a one of a kind movie about set around an important event in recent history. The movie and especially it's story, that just seemed 'silly' at first sight, surpassed my expectations.
The movie its both unusual and original take on the events set around the fall of the Berlin Wall make this movie a perfect mix of subtle comedy and drama. The movie becomes nowhere too heavy and nowhere too hilarious. It always manages to stay somewhere in the middle with as a result a well balanced movie that works on both levels, also thanks to the fine characters in the movie and the actors that portray them.
The movie is visually good looking and it uses some nice costumes and settings. It perfectly knows to capture the feeling and look of '80's/'90's East-Berlin. The movie has some nimble editing and features some memorable sequences. Perhaps the story goes a bit wrong at moments but it doesn't really make the movie any less pleasant to watch.
German cinema is getting better and better the last couple of years, with this movie as a perfect example of this.
8/10
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