ComedyDrama

Good Bye, Lenin!

Alex Kerner's mother was in a coma while the Berlin wall fell. When she wakes up he must try to keep her from learning what happened (as she was an avid communist supporter) to avoid shocking her which could lead to another heart attack.

Release Date : 2003-02-13

Language :German

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : WDRARTEX Filme Creative Pool

Production Country : Germany

Alternative Titles : Goodbye, Lenin!

Cast

Character Name : Alex

Original Name : Daniel Brühl

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mother

Original Name : Katrin Sass

Gender : Female

Character Name : Lara

Original Name : Чулпан Хаматова

Gender : Female

Character Name : Ariane

Original Name : Maria Simon

Gender : Female

Character Name : Denis

Original Name : Florian Lukas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rainer

Original Name : Alexander Beyer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alex's Father

Original Name : Burghart Klaußner

Gender : Male

Character Name : Klapprath

Original Name : Michael Gwisdek

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ms. Schäfer

Original Name : Christine Schorn

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mr. Ganske

Original Name : Jürgen Holtz

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Mehlert

Original Name : Jochen Stern

Gender : Male

Character Name : "Sigmund Jähn"

Original Name : Stefan Walz

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dr. Wagner

Original Name : Eberhard Kirchberg

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dr. Mewes

Original Name : Hans-Uwe Bauer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alex (11 years)

Original Name : Nico Ledermueller

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ariane (13 years)

Original Name : Jelena Kratz

Gender : Male

Character Name : Baby Paula (1 year)

Original Name : Laureen Hatscher

Gender : Male

Character Name : Baby Paula (1 year)

Original Name : Felicitas Hatscher

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stasi 1

Original Name : Martin Brambach

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stasi 2

Original Name : Michael Gerber

Gender : Male

Character Name : Official at Award Ceremony

Original Name : Robert Störr

Gender : Male

Character Name : Baby Paula (3 months)

Original Name : Philipp Kupfer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Taxi Driver

Original Name : Ernst-Georg Schwill

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stasi in Denim Jacket

Original Name : Rainer Werner

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Ward Doctor

Original Name : Marc Bischoff

Gender : Male

Character Name : Border Guard 1

Original Name : Horst-Dieter Stork

Gender : Male

Character Name : NVA-Officer

Original Name : Hartmut Kuley

Gender : Male

Character Name : "X-TV" Boss

Original Name : Peter Kurth

Gender : Male

Character Name : Border Guard 2

Original Name : Ditmar Bieseke

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ambulance Driver

Original Name : Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Passenger

Original Name : Dirk Prinz

Gender : Male

Character Name : "The Chick"

Original Name : Jürgen Vogel

Gender : Male

Character Name : Saleswoman HO-Market

Original Name : Elke Werner

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cucumber Woman

Original Name : Regina Ziebach

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cucumber Man

Original Name : Wolfgang Stein

Gender : Male

Character Name : Flea Market Vendor

Original Name : Mennan Yapo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Guard at Coca-Cola

Original Name : Fritz Roth

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pioneer Sasha

Original Name : Maximilian Brunow

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pioneer Niko

Original Name : Bojan Heyn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bank Teller

Original Name : Armin Dillenberger

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pioneer Christian

Original Name : Denys Darahan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pioneer Frank

Original Name : Bastian Lang

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fat Man at the Pool

Original Name : Lothar Schlichthar

Gender : Male

Character Name : Wuppertaler

Original Name : Alexander Reed

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gynecologist

Original Name : Ute Michel

Gender : Male

Character Name : Father's New Wife

Original Name : Svea Timander

Gender : Male

Character Name : Carla

Original Name : Hanna Schwamborn

Gender : Female

Character Name : Thomas

Original Name : Rafael Hübner

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Speaker

Original Name : Michael Berge

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2025-03-12

Daniel Brühl is on good form here in this entirely far-fetched but enjoyable drama. He and his sister “Ariane” (Maria Simon) live in East Germany with their proud citizen mother (Katrin Sass) who has just been awarded a special medal for her socialist public-mindedness. The thing is, it is 1989 and the whole Honecker regime is beginning to totter. People are on the streets and one of them just happens to be “Alex”. When he gets himself apprehended by the police on the street, she tries to intervene but only manages to end up in a coma. He is promptly released and for a while he and his sister and her boyfriend have to live their lives whilst she breathes through hospital tubes. Then, some months later, she wakes up. The doctors have advised that she should be kept rested and peaceful, and so her kinder decide that maybe now is not the best time to tell her that the Berlin Wall is now a pile of rubble and the Trabant she has longed for could now be a VW! How on Earth can they keep such momentous developments from the woman, especially when it’s all that is on the television Well that’s where he recruits the help of her nurse/his girlfriend “Lara” (Chulpan Khamatova) and his creative pal “Denis” (the frequently scene-stealing Florian Lukas) and next thing she is eating the same old stuff, the flat is restored to it’s 1980s look and somehow they are managing to rig the news broadcasts so all they report are the glories of the DDR. How long can they keep it up, though? Sooner or later she is going to want to go outside, or even look out of the window. Although the whole thing does border on the preposterous a bit, it does ask just how far we would go to shield a loved one from stress and trauma, and as the antics get more and more daft Brühl steps up to the plate entertainingly. It also doesn’t shy away from addressing the issues facing a population that had hitherto relied up the state for so much, and that now had to fend for itself in a much more obvious dog-eat-dog fashion. This is especially exemplified when their currency is to be merged with the Deutsch Mark and they can’t find her savings! By creating such ridiculous scenarios, this quite comically shows up the absurdity of dogmatic politics and, to a certain extent, of family too and Bernd Lichtenburg’s sharp script gives just about everyone some powerfully natural dialogue to make us laugh and think. In the end, though, it’s all about Brühl and he delivers. This is worth a couple of hours.