Main Storyline:

The movie follows the story of Alexander Kerner who resides in socialist east Germany. His father leaves him mother for another woman and moves to west Germany and his mother is left to bring up Daniel and his sister. During his entire childhood Alexander and his sister had formed a close bond with their mother, thus when she went into a coma both of them were devastated. During the 5 year period of her coma Germany undergoes immense changes such as the Berlin wall being torn down and segregation of the east and west coming to an end. When their mother finally wakes up, doctors advise Alex and his sister not to inform their mother of anything serious that had occurred during her coma. Hence they lie to her regarding her coma. Alex is then left to make everything seem as if they were 5 years ago. He goes to great lengths like asking his friend to re-create news that had been broadcasted 5 years ago. However his mother eventually finds out what has been going on and dies of a cardiac arrest in the end. Alex puts her ashes into a firework rocket and launches it into the night sky because her last wish was for her ashes to be scattered all throughout Germany.

Thoughts:

I can safely say this was one of the most heartfelt and unique films I have ever seen. The movie explores complex topics such as family relations, socialism, capitalism, love and patriotism, while maintaining the storyline. I first saw this film when I was 11, It changed the way I viewed the world. I was engrossed, the actors were sincere and very believable. I was fascinated by the little snippets of monochromatic footage that would appear of ancient news broadcasts regarding the Berlin wall and capitalism in west Germany. I was deeply touched when I saw footage of the Berlin wall being torn down and family members who had been segregated could finally reunite. I also liked the end of the film where Alex shot the firework rocket containing his mother’s ashes into the sky. It was deeply symbolic and thought provoking. Perfect way to end a film.

Film Quality:

The quality of the film was easy on the eyes. The white balance was perfect in the sense that there was a good balance of blues and reds. The brightness was mild hence making the film easy to watch. The conversations were smooth and the editing was unnoticeable so it wasn’t distracting. They used snippets of old news footage and it seems they optimized the quality of the clips hence it easy to make out what was going on. I also found many of the angles used to be very unique, the film successfully explored the surroundings and gave us new perspectives while keeping the interest of the audience. Overall I think the film was shot artistically.