This was the opening night film of the festival and was a UK premiere, we were treated to a brief introduction of the festival by the organisers during which we were shown how technology in filmmaking and projection had changed. Apparently they've installed a high-resolution digital projection system in the cinema so more on this when I've seen what it is like.
The main feature was then rolled; the audience was not disappointed by the inaugural film! Which was just as well considering the cinema was at capacity. I was not surprised that "Goodbye Lenin!" has become the most popular German production to date, but I must say however that the trailers did misportray the film slightly. I was sure I was about to see a comedy, but only a few minutes into the film I realised the whole affair was going to be very bittersweet.
The story is about a family residing in East Berlin in 1989, Christiane is the mother, and as is revealed in flashback, becomes the head of a single parent family and concentrates her efforts on being a good socialist (read communist!) for the country. Unfortunately she suffers a heart attack and is in a coma for eight months, during which time the Berlin wall falls and capitalism sweeps the East. Her son (Alex) is warned that his mother�s health is still in danger and thus he must prevent her from exposure to further shocks. Thus Alex takes it upon himself to transform his mother�s household back into the communist residence it was beforehand. Needless to say his attempts to disguise the truth from his mother become more and more elaborate, and occasionally surreal, and along the way all the characters develop immensely and we are revealed a great deal about their personalities and relationships.
The film was very well constructed and brilliantly paced; a lot of the scenes were full of footage and even the "normal" parts of the film showing everyday things going on were very well shot and edited. Unfortunately I did notice the boom microphone a couple of times and this was a shame when you consider the effort which went into the rest of the film.
There were a few nods to Kubrick (also echoed in Buffalo Soldiers q.v.) with Alex's film editing friend trying to recreate the famous "cut" from 2001 in a wedding video, and also the use of the William Tell Overture during the scene where they put all the old furniture back into the bedroom.
As well as the very obvious political messages in the film I was particularly pleased to see very interesting relationships in the film. Alex's almost obsessional and simultaneously blinkered devotion to his mother, and his sister's tight grip on her emotions, which finally are revealed when she hears news about their father.
All in all a very good film, if slightly bleak in places, made all the more bleak by some very good comedic moments in the film!
****1/2 (out of five)
I am keen to see this film. Will it be available on DVD either here or in Germany ? Also how can I find out when/where it might be shown locally ? - my domicile is -
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
Thank you
J G Band
I am keen to see this film. Will it be available on DVD either here or in Germany ? Also how can I find out when/where it might be shown locally ? - my domicile is -
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
Thank you
J G Band
I am keen to see this film. Will it be available on DVD either here or in Germany ? Also how can I find out when/where it might be shown locally ? - my domicile is -
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
Thank you
J G Band
A look in your "Yellow Pages" should reveal any cinemas likely to show this film near you, as will the internet. Another good one is to look at teletext on Channel 4, which often has very good local cinema "what's on" listings...
It's on general release now, and will probably be released on DVD in between six months to a year. Your local retail outlet should have a list of the exact date closer to release time.
I have to say i saw this film last week in London and its certainly one of the best films i have ever seen! i can't stop thinking about all the issues it raised, the memories it raised and not to mention the storyline and actors as well.
If you get a chance, don't pass it by... its brilliant, and i just can't wait till i can buy it.
I'm glad you liked the film. I'm sure it'll be available on DVD before too long, hopefully with lots of nice features. I would really like to hear a directors commentry.
Goodbye Lenin is being released on DVD and VHS in September. You can order it from amazon.de or bol.com in germany
Excellent! Thanks for the info too. I'm sure it'll be very well received - cult movie status is being achieved as we speak...
warning!
The dvd being sold from germany DOESN'T have English sub-titles!
so is there anywhere we can get a copy WITH english subtitles?!?! i can't find it anywhere on english websites and so the only place i could get it WAS on the german websites... and i don't even speak german! that was a chore i tell ya!!!
if there is anywhere i can get it with english subtitles can someone send me the address? please send it to chinchilla_jones@Hotmail.com
lusy x
Argh. It's true. I've had a fairly good look for "real DVDs" (as opposed to pirate editions), no English version as yet.
I guess we have to wait. Or buy the German version and subtitle it ourselves! (Could be a bit time consuming.)
I was mortified to see on Amazon's German site that people who'd bought "Goodbye Lenin!" (NB It's written "Good Bye Lenin!" in Germany!) had also been buying Johnny English!!! An elaborate joke, surely?
I saw this film while traveling in Germany (Berlin). I loved it. Does anyone know when it will be available in the US on DVD, etc...to my knowledge it hasn't been released theatrically here either.
It certainly won't be available on DVD in the US this year (the release listings I've looked at go to the middle of December). I also note on IMDB it doesn't have a certification in the US yet - hinting that it won't have a theatrical release for a while at least!
the good news is that the dvd on amazon.de does indeed have a director/stars commentary - hopefully we will be treated to a subtitled version of this when released.
does anyone know when the vhs/dvd will be released in the uk, or whether anywhere is still screening it?
i saw it at the duke of yorks in brighton two days ago, dont know about the dvd
You know what, I saw them selling in Thalia bookstore in Berlin "The Harry Porter's English-German dictionary" with the English Harry Potter too!
So they gave German words for English words like "witchcraft" etc..
> I was mortified to see on Amazon's German site > that people who'd bought "Goodbye Lenin!" (NB
> It's written "Good Bye Lenin!" in Germany!) had > also been buying Johnny English!!! An elaborate > joke, surely?
I saw this movie on a flight from Germany, and I loved it, but where can I find a copy for North American DVDs with subtitles? I want so many others here to see it, as I grew up in Europe during the 1980s - 1990s and this movie really hit home.
Cool... a nice blog. I'm going to start my own one.
does anyone have an idea WHEN the film will be available on US dvd?
thanks
Well, I've been checking various retail outlets (at home and internationally). No news yet on a DVD or Video release with english subtitles. Obviously you can get the German version from the country of origin, no problem if you understand the language and have a multi-region DVD player!
As soon as I hear anything, you'll see info here.
Meine Deutsche ist nicht gut aber the Amazon.de site appears to be announcing a 3 disk special version due in late Feb 04 with ENGLISH subtitles! Can't wait!
At last! Amazon co uk are now selling an english sub-titled dvd!! rejoice!!!
Yep, at £14.99 it is worth checking out. However I may wait for it to drop in price having seen the film at the flicks already... Wonderful that it is out however for all to enjoy whether they speak German or not.