Good Bye Lenin! Reviews

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I thought I might as check it out again. I remember it very well, when this movie was released, it was a critical success so I had some pretty big expectations the first time around. Well, I’m glad I watched it again because I enjoyed it even more. Indeed, the concept might seem silly and you can imagine that an American movie would have gone for the cheap laughs but I was surprised by how subtle the damned thing turned out to be. Sure, to see the fall of the Berlin wall and of Eastern Germany in general from this perspective was quite interesting and the clash between the Eastern and Western world as well and it was all quite funny and entertaining but, actually, they went really deeper than that. Basically, it might be one of the very few comedies (maybe even the only one?) which was based on a lie and it still actually worked. Indeed, it is most of the time a useless gimmick because the reason a lie is used are almost always worthless but, in this case, it actually did make sense. Of course, it was completely impractical and fairly ridiculous but the reason why was actually sound and, above all, the main character did it for love and completely regardless of his self-interest. Furthermore, I also loved the tone and it might be one of the most melancholic comedies I have ever seen. Seriously, this mixing of drama and comedy was pretty much flawless. For Daniel Brühl, it was obviously a star making performance but, even though he had afterwards a solid career, he has never given again such a strong performance. Anyway, to conclude, I really enjoyed the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in German movies.