not such a bad film, after all

Rating: 9/10 (9 August 2006)

so I finally got to see the film everyone has been talking about. I have also seen the talk show in which the director gets into an argument with East-German actor Henry Hübchen. I must admit the director comes across as arrogant bordering on annoying. He is obviously a wunderkind or something but he is actually such a smart-ass that I can't imagine a character less likable. Watching his discussion with Hübchen made me want to boycott the film (even though I adore the actors in it, Martina Gedeck and Ulrich Mühe)
I am glad I didn't. It may not be historically accurate. I am from East Germany but I am too young to know. Yet, most people say the GDR as portrayed in the film was not the GDR of the 1980s but rather the (Stalinist) GDR of the 1950s. In the 1980s, most actors, singers, the famous people were able to extort the GDR government as they could just go west and embarrass the officials. If the writer/actress couple were really as famous as the film suggests, in 1984, the GDR officials would have given them anything they wanted. (the pivotal point was 1976 when dissident Wolf Biermann was denaturalized)
In that respect, I understand Hübchen's criticism. He said he lived in the period and doesn't agree with the way it was portrayed. He fears that the will now stand testimony to the era and people may well think that this is the way it was. His grandson asked him why he didn't do anything about it, how he could live in a system like this etc. I suppose he is afraid Donnersmark steals his biography, in a way.
However, it is still a work of fiction and people who watch a film should know. It is a good film, if overly dramatic, a little obvious, and Hollywood-IA. It has some great moments, actually. Mühe is fantastic as the man in grey.
So, it's definitely worth checking out. I have a feeling it may get more appreciation abroad than in Germany. It was obviously produced with the foreign (esp American) audiences in mind. And I think it may translate pretty well into foreign territories as it gets enthusiastic notices from critics abroad.
My favourite German film this year is still Sommer vorm Balkon, yet it appears foreigners don't get the subtle and sweet Berlin humour.