Goodbye, Lenin (2003/2004)
Jim Croce lamented his inability
to save time in a bottle in song. "Goodbye, Lenin"
tries to save time in a bedroom and finds the crushing
blow of the forward momentum of progress nearly unstoppable.
The fact that times runs forward, unceasingly, unforgivably,
is key to "Goodbye, Lenin," a delightful and important
comedy that comes from the recently reunified Germany.
Looking back well over 10 years,
the film is set at the time the Berlin Wall comes
down and East and West Berlin become a whole city
again, with the pop culture and fast paced quality
of life in a consumer society overtaking the conservative
and slow pace of Eastern communism.
The protagonist in this discussion
of time, progress, and the impact of change is Alex,
a young man who seems in desperate need of finding
himself. Alex takes part in a freedom march in East
Germany and his party-supporting mother, upon seeing
this, promptly has a heart attack and goes into a
coma. During the seven months she is incapacitated,
things change drastically in Alex's homeland and the
Berlin Wall comes tumbling down. When his mother awakes
from her elongated slumber, Alex is told any shock
may give her another heart attack and, not wanting
to upset, he and his sister attempt to turn back the
clock in her little bedroom at home and pretend that
everything is as it was before her accident.
Of course, one expects hilarity
to ensue but this film isn't just about "keeping a
secret" from someone, pulling a ruse; That would get
boring quite quickly. Instead the film becomes an
interesting treatise on the freeing yet chaotic qualities
of Western consumer culture and a free economy versus
the staid and quaint attractions of a political system
based on things remaining the same. While the film
seems to agree that the former is a much better system,
it is also quite nice at pointing out the relaxing
and trouble-free qualities of Eastern communism, which
left little room for expectations or turmoil. With
the near loss of his mother, Alex also questions the
loss of his motherland, both of these ideals representing
security. "Goodbye Lenin" is many films in this sense,
part comedy, part drama, part coming of age story
and an interesting treatise of lifestyles and freedom.
The film is a bit overly long and
at times a bit slowly paced, but overall the piece
is quite delightful. Young Daniel Bruhl is quite charming
and likeable as Alex. Likewise, Kathrin Sass is just
as delightful as his mum. These are characters that
we grow to like and care for. The script by director
Wolfgang Becker and Bernd Lichtenberg is also full
of wonderful ideas and original thinking. Even when
the scripters seems to be slipping into having a typical
thought, like making Alex's best friend a wannabe
filmmaker, the film proves itself more than just stereotypically
hip and trendy by having this character's hobby actually
become an unexpectedly important device in the film's
proceedings.
"Goodbye, Lenin" is a charming,
warm, witty and utterly original film and worth seeing.
Time in a theater is rarely this well spent.
Note:
In German with subtitles.
The film was nominated several awards
and won many.
The film was released in Germany
in February, 2003, but did not appear in American
arthouses until February, 2004.
Viewed at the Dobie in Austin in
April 2004.
