Goodbye Lenin! [movies]

I finally saw Goodbye, Lenin! (Make sure the exclamation mark is included). To provide a spoiler-free set up as possible, Alex is a boy growing up in East Germany. His mother has an accident a few months before the fall of communism in Germany, and then wakes up after unification. For various reasons, Alex orchestrates an elaborate series of lies to keep the truth from his mother.

What proceeds from there is a mostly humorous, occasionally bittersweet progression of the hoax. The end of the movie takes a surprising turn that I won’t reveal here, but is well worth the wait.

This movie is a touching, sweet message to old East Germany. The overall story appears to be one of a son’s love for his mother, but gradually turns into a boy’s love letter to his country. He recreates a pocket of East Germany ostensibly to preserve his mother’s health, but really keeps pursuing the ruse because he misses the country where he grew up. Eventually, he learns to balance his fondness for the old with the adventure of the new.

Highly recommended when you want a sweet, interesting story.

And yes, E, there are subtitles.