The Wonder of Berlin (2008)

Directed by: Roland Suso Richter | 105 minutes | drama, history | Actors: Kostja Ullmann, Karoline Herfurth, Veronica Ferres, Heino Ferch, Michael Gwisdek, André Hennicke, Gesine Cukrowski, Tino Mewes, Anna Loos, Hermann Beyer, Christian Blümel, Angelika Gersdorf, Harald Glitz, Christopher Karl Hemeyer, Aaron Hildebrand, Vinzenz Kiefer Clemens Schick, Kevin Schleker, Julita Witt, Gabriele Domschke

The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989. Günter Schabowski, one of the highest party leaders in the GDR, held a special press conference early in the evening: for the first time he was prepared to answer questions from journalists without preconditions. In somewhat broken German, an Italian journalist asked a question about a new travel arrangement for GDR citizens, which had been widely criticized. Schabowski gave a complicated answer in which he defended the policy of the party. But then he suddenly said: ‘But today, as far as I know, a decision has been made… We have decided that every citizen of the GDR can cross the border.’ The question immediately followed when the rule would come into effect. Schabowski flipped through his papers, looked up and said, “That’s true, as far as I know, from now on.” The confusion was great. Did Schabowski really mean that the border between East and West Germany was open? Or was there a catch and did it only apply to people who wanted to leave the GDR for good or to everyone, including citizens who just wanted to take a look at West Germany? It was only two hours later that it became clear what had really happened: ‘The GDR opens the border’, reported the news, after which an explosion of joy erupted.

The television film ‘Das Wunder von Berlin’ (2008) is about this unforgettable day for the whole of Germany – and the rest of the world. Screenwriter Thomas Kirchner, himself an eyewitness to the fall of the wall, based not only on his own experiences, but also on that of Tilo Koch, the commander of the border crossing ‘Bornholmer Strasse’, one of the first who did not want to wait until the army and the Stasi had decided what to do and opened the border. His personal history has of course been romanticized for the film. His story begins in East Berlin in 1988. Marco Kaiser (Kostja Ullman) kicks all the sacred houses that his father Jürgen (Heino Ferch) – a devoted Stasi leader – has carefully built. He hangs around in the punk scene, a movement that is emphatically suppressed by the Volkspolizei. During one of his underground parties, Marco is arrested. His father presents him with a choice: eighteen months of grumbling or three years voluntarily in the army so that he can then go to college. He reluctantly chooses the latter, not realizing that his time in the army could change him drastically.

His family at home experiences the turbulent years ’88 and ’89 in their own way. Jürgen has been dating another woman for a long time and clings to his communist ideals. Mother Hanna (Veronika Ferres) once shared those ideals, but has more and more doubts. She genuinely loves East Germany, cherishes it and wants the best for the country. Marco’s friend Anja (Karoline Herfurht), an orphan who has moved in with the family, joins the progressive group for which Hanna also provides assistance. Grandpa Walter (Michael Gwisdek) fondly remembers the good old days when he was still in the Wehrmacht. As former punk Marco changes from a radical rebel to a devoted defender of the socialist homeland, the impending political landslide causes a rift within the family. No one knows what awaits them…

It is a miracle that the fall of the Berlin Wall was able to take place without bloodshed. The title of this film by Roland Suso Richter (winner of the Cinekid Film Award in 2000 with ‘Eine Handvoll Gras’) refers to this miracle. We see what impact the fall of the wall – or rather the run-up to it – has on an ordinary East German family. It is people who have bonded with the demarcated piece of land, who love it. Richter shows us the abuses and injustice that took place in the GDR, but he certainly also shows us a warm, human side. He does so with integrity, by letting us empathize with realistic characters, figures of flesh and blood. Jürgen may seem like a nasty man at first, but he shows his human side when he reveals that he has always had to compete with his father. But he definitely didn’t want to be like him, a Nazi puppet. His own son now, years later, is experiencing the same contradiction. The acting is strong across the board. Especially Michael Gwisdek, who as grandfather Walter provides a rare comic relief, is impressive. He was awarded the Best Supporting Actor award at the German Television Awards. ‘Das Wunder von Berlin’ looks brilliant for a television film; A great deal of attention has been paid to the sets, costumes and sets and Holly Fink’s camera work exceeds the standard of the average TV film in every respect.

Roland Suso Richter shows in a compelling way how the fall of the Berlin Wall was experienced by an average East German family. The fears and contradictions, the confusion and excitement that swept through the inhabitants of the GDR, who had no idea what awaited them, but also the relief that change could also happen peacefully (that it could have happened differently). Richter shows on the basis of television fragments of, among other things, the student uprising on Tiananmen Square in Beijing). Where Wolfgang Becker’s ‘Goodbye, Lenin!’ (2003) mainly illuminating the events surrounding the fall of the wall with disarming humour, ‘Das Wunder von Berlin’ takes us along in an honest and small human drama. Both films complement each other nicely.