The film "Goodbye Lenin", which won a big victory in Europe last year, tells the days before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the last days of a loyal German Unity member.
"Berlin Siege" is a tragedy. When a person wakes up from a coma, everything in history has changed dramatically. When he sees the truth from a white lie, he can only die in pain. "Goodbye Lenin" is somewhat similar to him. The loyal mother of the German Unity Party unexpectedly fell into a coma during the chaos of the late 1980s and stayed awake for a long time. She did not see the opening of the border between Germany and Germany, nor did she see the fall of the Berlin Wall, nor did she see East Germany completely merge into West Germany and abandon the socialist system. This was something she could not imagine. But when everything seemed to calm down and everyone was reintegrating into the new system and new society, the mother woke up unexpectedly. Her kind-hearted son slept again so that she would no longer be hit, and created a small East German society for her. For her, the son tried his best, "The border has opened up so that a large number of West German compatriots can come to East Germany to find jobs. West Germany is too competitive, and the spiritual world is empty." "The Berlin Wall was demolished and the German Communist leaders replaced Now, they want to merge the two Germanys. Socialism should be about living in peace with our compatriots." Through the production of East German TV programs for her mother, the son has been telling her what she wants. Finally, the sound of fireworks on the anniversary of the merger of the two Germanys In the middle, the mother left the world with satisfaction. What remains in this world is everyone's fond memories of the German Socialist Unity Party.
Is this a tragedy? Perhaps for those Marxist-Leninists, yes.
Is this a comedy? Maybe for those who just watched it, yes.
But for those who lived in the socialist countries of Eastern Europe, this film should be a serious drama, telling the expectations before the dramatic changes in Eastern Europe, the excitement in the middle, and the confusion and helplessness afterwards. People who have had this experience easily resonate.
What exactly is socialism? Two answers are given in the film: the press control during the German Communist regime used spiritual preaching and force suppression to restrain the people, so the East Germans at that time first demanded freedom of the press; after the reunification of the two Germanys, the son Through the programs I recorded, I expressed my understanding of socialism to the audience: Socialism should coexist friendly with everyone and protect the various legal rights of citizens!
During the turbulent period of drastic changes in Eastern Europe, the people of socialist countries acted as rebels. Indeed, Eastern Europe at that time had too much humanity imprisoned, and the leadership of the party was detached from the masses, which inevitably would not be supported by the masses. As a result, the Berlin Wall fell and socialism was gone. Eastern Europe is immersed in a sea of joy.
But what did the people get after that? Lost the faith in life, many people are at a loss. Many successful people in the past can no longer find their place. Without the social security system, they have lost their jobs. Some people can only use alcohol and drugs as anesthesia. I, the East German in confusion, find my place in pain and confusion.
While the son created a false world for his mother, he also gradually developed a delicate relationship with the dead East Germany. There are two episodes in the movie that are still fresh in my memory: after the merger of the two Germanys, the East German money has to be exchanged for West German marks, but the son found the money hidden by his mother after the exchange period expired, so the bank refused to exchange it. The son roared: "What is this! You Westerners! This is 30,000 marks, which was accumulated by an East German citizen after 30 years of hard work!" Before leaving the bank, he said to the crowd of onlookers: "What do you see? Look! This is your money too!" That night, he threw the East German currency with the portraits of Marx, Engels, and Lenin far into the night sky, breaking the last link between the previous East German government. There is also a passage where he came to West Berlin to find his divorced father, where his father got married again. When he saw his father's current child watching an East German cartoon of astronauts, he couldn't help but feel shocked. The children asked him: "You also like to see astronauts?" "Yes, but in our country it is called cosmonaut." "Where did you come from?" "Another country."
The son has developed a deep relationship with the sickle and axe Germany. This is not only a nostalgia for lost things, but also a nostalgia for the time he has lived. While being his mother, he is also looking for his own past. Home. There is still nostalgia for that socialism in my son's mind, which is a popular view in Eastern Europe today.
Arthur, the first astronaut of East Germany, said in the movie: "Looking at the earth from the sky, it is so small. What is insurmountable for the people on this small earth? We are on the earth. The estrangement, what can’t be broken?”
So the ideological antagonism is over, the border is opened, the two Germanys are unified, and although socialism does not exist, its beautiful image will remain deeply in Eastern Europe. In people's hearts.
Maybe the mother knows everything, but maybe she knows nothing, who knows. Even if she knew it was false, she would be willing to see her hopes become reality. As at the end, looking at the blooming fireworks and closing the eyes peacefully, I was so satisfied and so excited.
"Although the mother has left, she seems to be still alive. In every corner of the world, she is watching each of us and teaching us to live seriously." The film finally ended with the son's melancholy and helpless recount, but life is still If you want to continue, maybe socialism will come back, and the adult fairy tale will truly become a reality.
--------------------------The dividing line to understand the truth------------------- -----
Recently I was chatting with my colleagues in Germany, and they mentioned this film again. It turned out that my mother knew everything. It turned out that the reason why my mother showed her as a loyal member of the Unity Party was to conceal her own freedom. It turns out that his husband Robert has been writing to her and has not forgotten her. In order to prevent intelligence agencies from checking her home, her mother hid all these things and concealed them.
It turns out that her mother has always known this, and this is what she has always been Expected, but when this day came, she didn't dare to face it again. Seeing everything her son had done for her, her mother was very happy and left with peace of mind
View more about Good Bye Lenin! reviews
