Film Reflection Good Bye, Lenin! Essay

I had mixed feelings about the movie Good Bye, Lenin! While I enjoyed watching Alex run into new challenges and come up with new solutions in scene after scene I felt the movie became too long and repetitive. I do however think the movie succeeded as a comedy, and as a glimpse into the history of Germany. I liked how the Becker used comedy to tell a sad story because it made it easier for the audience to watch. There were also many funny characters that accentuated people’s views of the political turmoil during that time. I noticed that the older generation shared a lingering nostalgia for the East Germany of the past while the younger generation saw a whole new world of opportunities and freedom opening up in front of them. The hurdles that Alex would go over for his mother made me really connect to him as a character. He was willing to do so much for this relationship and he believed so fully that what he was doing was right that you didn’t dare question him. In class we talked about how the director could have done more to give us a feeling of suspense and drama. Instead of leaving us hanging Becker actually sped up the scenes so we would get to the climax of if Alex’s scheme worked faster. I understand why people wanted that feeling of suspense but I believe that this was an artistic choice chosen to give the movie the feeling of things moving too fast. No matter how badly Alex wanted to stay suspended in the past the present and future were rushing towards him. By speeding up the scenes we were given that same feeling, the results were always coming quicker than we expected or often wanted. Something I wish Becker had done different was the end of the movie. When the movie finished I felt conflicted and betrayed. This was because Alex’s mother knew of Alex’s scheme at the end because she was told by his girlfriend. They then all pretended she still didn’t know for Alex’s sake. I don’t know why this bothered me but I felt angry at her for ruining all the work and then lying. It angered me the most because he was so close to succeeding. I believe Becker wanted us to feel this way at the end of the  movie to represent the strengths of relationships and the reality that Alex could only twist reality so far. His mother had become confused and in a way it was better for her to understand. I wish however the end had been different and that his mother could have truly passed on in his made up world.