Goodbye Lenin! (2003)

Recommended

Germany

Feature Film

Original Title: Good Bye Lenin!

Director: Wolfgang Becker

Writers: Bernd Lichtenberg, Wolfgang Becker

Cinematographer: Martin Kukula

Composer: Yann Tiersen

Cast: Daniel Brühl, Kathrin Sass, Chulpan Khamatova, Maria Simon, Florian Lukas, Alexander Beyer, Burghart Klaußner

With beautiful (if familiar) music from Tiersen, and very touching performances from Brühl and Sass, Becker’s bitter-sweet tale – following a son’s attempts to keep the fall of communism from his fragile mother, who has just woken from an eight month coma, in order to shield her from the shock – transcends its sit-com-like farce plot, proving to be gently funny, quietly thoughtful, and really quite moving. Iain.Stott