This 2003 film with Daniel Brühl sees the differences between East and West Germany through a different lens than most films. The premise of this one is a fragile mother who falls into a coma in 1989 and is to avoid any excitement when she wakes up – the family must pretend that the DDR still exists. The lengths of which they go to hide the truth lead to a good balance of drama and comedy.
Many of the actors in this cast were born in the DDR or other Soviet controlled areas. In fact Daniel Brühl is one of only two of the main cast to be from a western area. Alexander Beyer, playing Rainer, was born in Erfurt. Her can be found in Deutschland 83, Deutschland 86, and even The Fifth Estate. Fellow protester Lara is played by actress Chulpan Khamatova, who was born in Russia. She can be found mostly in Russian films, but began her success in a Moritz Bleibtreu film, Luna Papa.
The largest reason to study this film are the comparisons made throughout the film of the East and West cultures and the political changes of the time. Due to the different perspective of this film, it is a popular choice for such purpose.
This film is rated R for language, sexuality, and nudity. In truth, only 16 years later it is only the nudity that pushes to the R levels compared to similar films today. The first instance of nudity takes place at about 19 minutes in, shortly after the wall falls and some changes to the culture are shown. Brief flashes of nudity happen throughout the next 20 minutes or so. The scene that most teachers and parents are concerned about is about 34 minutes in. It is preceded by a man peaking out from a tanning bed and ends before the family is convinced to reorganize the room.