Film Analysis: Good-bye, Lenin Directed by Wolfgang Becker

523 Words2 Pages

Taking place in East Germany, 1989, the movie is about a family consisting of a mother, son, and daughter. The mother, Christiane, is a strong socialist and a party member of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Christiane was dramatically shaken, but it only increased her passion for the GDR. One day, she witnesses her son, Alex, protesting in an anti-Berlin Wall demonstration and being apprehended by the police. Christiane suffers a heart attack from the sight and goes into a coma for 8 months. During that time period, much has changed, including the fall of the Berlin wall, the GDR being dissolved, and the reunification of West and East Germany. With the fall of the Berlin wall, socialism in on the decline and capitalism begins to thrive with the sharp increase of consumer goods. Knowing that his mom worked her whole life as a socialist, Alex wanted to hide the outside world from her and pretend as if nothing has happened and that the GDR was still in power over East Germany. Towards the very end, his mother finally finds out through Alex’s girlfriend, who tells her about all tha...

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