Once Upon a Time in the East
The GDR on Screen
Presented by Crosby Buhl in partnership with Goethe Institut, Los Angeles and The Wende Museum. With special thanks to the Margaret Herrick Library
It has been over twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and yet we are still coming to terms with what that means. The joy and idealism felt in 1989 and 1990 was quickly tempered by the reality that re-unification was not going to be a merger of equals. Watching the films in this series we will explore how East and West German filmmakers have dealt with the issues of the past. We will also see an American perspective shot during the early days of the Berlin Wall. All of the films, with the exception of the NBC News Program, were shot after re-unification. Every film uses its own language and narrative to dialogue with and provide closure to that era.
Go Trabi Go (1991) was shot shortly after the Wende, German for “turning point” that refers to the fall of the Berlin Wall and re-unification. It enjoyed the domestic success of over 1.5 million viewers with audiences from both sides of the country. The often derided Trabant, the official car of East Germany, or Trabi for short is the main catalyst for the action in the film, or since they were so prone to breakdown, the catalyst for inaction.
Later that decade, Sonnenalle (1999), set in 1970’s East Berlin, offers us a prime example of ostalgie, or nostalgia for the consumer goods and cultural icons of the former GDR. The director, Leander Haußmann intentionally floods the screen with so many objects only found in East Germany, like the Multi-Function table, where we spend minutes on its ineffectiveness as a comedic gag. Also running throughout the film is the constant obsession with goods that can only be obtained in the West. The youngest character, Wuschel, is so obsessed with obtaining the latest Rolling Stones album, which is banned in the GDR, that his wild moment of panic nearly gets him shot by border guards.
The most familiar example of ostalgie cinema for American audiences is Good Bye Lenin! (2003). Beginning with the harsh realities of life in the GDR, Alex’s mother is questioned by state security after her husband defected to the West, Good Bye Lenin! Alex presents his mother with a world whose “idealistic reconceptualizations ring false from the outset” (Richardson 229).
In Der Tunnel (2001), we move away from the ostalgie to the concept that only persecution and strife existed for East Germans who were not loyal to the communist party. As David L. Pike mentions in Wall and Tunnel, similar to prison escape films, the tunnel is “a conduit back to the world of normality from which the prisoners (in our case refugees) have been severed” (12).
In 1962 NBC News created a feature length piece debuting to an audience of thirty-five million viewers, that would later serve as inspiration for Der Tunnel (Pike 18). Controversy arose at the time because it was against international law for NBC to finance the building of the illegal tunnel. As the only American produced work in this series, it is important to note the propagandistic nature of its views towards East Germany and the Communist Bloc.
OstPunk! Too Much Future (2006) sets itself apart from the other films in this program by not only being critical of the Stasi regime, but of communism itself. This film moves us further from the ostalgie we witnessed in the first few films of this series. There is no discussion of how things were better when the communists were still in power, as the punk scene was always trying to emulate that of the west. They openly discuss the oppression they faced from the system, and because OstPunk! is a documentary, it is not possible to make light or in any way trivialize what they went through.
The true nail in the coffin for ostalgie in German cinema came with 2006’s Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others). Von Donnersmark’s dark tale of Stasi intrigue and individual redemption eliminated all of the sugar coating that had previously been applied to representations of the GDR. East German’s were quick to remark how the film was able to capture the true feeling of what it was like to live in the 1980’s GDR, even though the story its self is pure fiction. While most agree that the tone of the film was appropriate and accurate, many including Anna Funder, author of Stasiland, found major fault with its story line. In the thousands of documents and stories collected in the aftermath, not a single instance of a Stasi agent protecting the person they were spying on was found.
While it is impossible to deal with the myriad of emotions and dilemmas that accompany the dissolution of the GDR and its re-unification with the west, I believe that art is critical to the process. Each filmmaker has chosen a unique path to help us discover the New Germany through the Old. Even when the nostalgic tone is overwhelming, none of the films truly believe that life was better under the old regime. The zeitgeist was so ebullient at the time that no one thought to mourn the good and the familiarity of what they were loosing. The funeral for Alex’s mother at the end of Good Bye Lenin! also serves as a memorial service for the Former East Germany, making the mourning of its loss acceptable.
Go Trabi Go (1991)
Dir. Peter Timm
Go Trabi Go is the charming story of the Struutz’s family road trip from their home in former East Germany to Rome. Along the way, they stop at Rita’s sister’s house where we meet the western side of the family, whose husband is a prime example of the over-weight, materialistic western stereotype. The families unreliable Trabant lives up to its reputation, and is a focal point for the family’s frustrations with changes that come with re-unification.
Sonnenallee (1999)
Dir. Leander Haußmann
Set in 1970’s East Germany, Sonnenallee tells the story of 17-year-old Michael and his quest to win the love of the beautiful Miriam. Set in the eastern portion of the street Sonnenallee, next to a Berlin Wall border crossing, Haußmann creates a hyper-kitsch, but not uncritical look at the era. The presence of the state apparatus and control is always felt, although usually comically exemplified in the awkward and inept patrol guard. While primarily a light-hearted film, the Stasi are constantly present, and Michael and his best friend Mario come to blows after Mario agrees to go work as an informant after being expelled from high school.
Goodbye Lenin! (2003)
Dir. Wolfgang Becker
Following his mother’s near fatal heart attack and subsequent coma, Alex (Daniel Brühl), recreates the GRD, which dissolved while she was comatose, in their apartment for her to save her from the shocking news that Alex is sure would be fatal to her. Goodbye Lenin! is a prime example of Ostalgie, the nostalgia for the consumer goods and cultural icons that were cast aside in the early days of re-unification.
Der Tunnel (2001)
Dir. Roland Suso Richter
Originally shot as a made for TV movie for the cable company sat.1, its high production values led to its subsequent theatrical release worldwide. Der Tunnel is based on the true story of a group of young men, one of whom had recently defected from the GDR after being a political prisoner, who dig a tunnel under the Berlin Wall to rescue loved ones from the communist regime.
NBC News: The Tunnel (1962)
Prod. Reuven Frank
This documentary about a group of students who tunneled under the Berlin Wall to retrieve friends and loved ones from East Germany, served as the inspiration for Richter’s 2001 production of Der Tunnel. Because of the Cuban Missile Crisis the original broadcast had to be delayed because the documentary was so critical of the East German communist regime.
Ostpunk! Too Much Future (2006)
Dir. Michael Boehlke and Carsten Fiebeler
The documentary OstPunk! Too Much Future, through interviews and archival footage sheds light on the East German punk scene. From first hand accounts we learn the various methods the Stasi and other government officials used to try and destroy the punk scene in East Germany. Among their tactics were turning trains around that had punks going to concerts in them, and placing them in juvenile-detention centers with out trial.
Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) (2006)
Dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmark
Winner of the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
A critically acclaimed, box-office success, Das Leben der Anderen, follows the transformation of Stasi Officer Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe), during his surveillance of playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch). Unlike the comedies Good Bye Lenin! and Sonnenalle, von Donnersmark paints darker picture of the GRD, not only through plot and genre, but also with his muted grey color palate that is all but absent of reds and blues.
Sources
Der Spiegel. 6 Nov. 1989. Microfilm.
Der Spiegle. 13 Nov. 1989. Microfilm.
Foreman, Liza. “Germany: New lucre extends from film and TV to Internet ventures.” Variety 29 May 2000: 39. Print.
Foundas, Scott. “The Stasi Who Came in From the Cold.” L.A. Weekly 1 Dec. 2006: 88-89. Print.
Fisher, Jaimey and Brad Prager. The Collapse of the Conventional. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2010. Print.
Gangloff, Tilmann P. “Helden in der Unterwelt.” Berliner Morgenpost 21 Jan. 2001. Print.
Lindner, Bernd. Für ein offenes Land mit freien Menschen. Leipzig: Forum Verlag, 1994. Print.
Von Donnersmark, Florian Henckel. Das Leben der anderen Filmbuch. Suhrkamp, 2006. Print.