Cinema surveillance images are loading at the bottom of the page

Goodbye, Lenin!

Threat advisory: Severe - Severe risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

From the producer of Run Lola, run, with the music composed by Yann Tiersen (Amélie) comes this moving comedy about a staunch, socialist mother in East Germany, who falls into a coma in October 1989 and wakes up eight months later. In the meantime, the Berlin Wall has crumbled, communism has fallen and her daughter is now working at the local Burger King! Her son, Alex (Daniel Brühl), advised by physicians that the shock of the monumental changes may be too much for her, decides to fool her into believing that the old GDR still exists and that communism has triumphed over the West. Although a sharp, political satire, the heart of the story is the tender relationship between mother and son and how he will go to any lengths to protect her.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film East Germany German Communist fall Berlin Wall coma mother son

Persons of interest

Daniel Brühl .... Alex
Katrin Saß .... Christiane Kerner
Maria Simon .... Ariane
Chulpan Khamatova .... Lara
Florian Lukas .... Denis
Alexander Beyer .... Rainer
Burghart Klaußner .... Vater
Michael Gwisdek .... Direktor Klapprath
Jürgen Holtz .... Ganske
Bernd Lichtenberg .... Screenwriter
Wolfgang Becker .... Screenwriter
Wolfgang Becker .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Goodbye, Lenin! official movie sites
Goodbye, Lenin! QuickTime movie trailers
Awards and film festivals:

Berlin International Film Festival 2003: Blue Angel (Wolfgang Becker); Nomination: Golden Berlin Bear (Wolfgang Becker)
German Screenplay Award 2002: Wolfgang Becker, Bernd Lichtenberg
LOLA Awards (Germany) 2003: Best film, best director (Wolfgang Becker), best actor (Daniel Bruehl), best supporting actor (Florian Lukas); special awards: editing (Peter R Adam), cinematography (Lothar Holler), music (Yann Tiersen)

NB: German language dialogue with English language subtitles
See also The lives of others (Das leben der anderen)
Studios and distributors:

Hopscotch Films * 21st Century Pictures

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Goodbye, Lenin! is a hilarious piss-take of the Communists in East Germany. It is funny, bitter and warm. Kind of like the beer of the Communists in East Germany. Enjoy it.