Rather than saying that it is a political film in the usual sense, expressing the connotation of anti-totalitarianism and anti-tyranny, it is better to say that it is an ordinary film about human emotions. The film does not simply deny the East Germany as the background of the times, but also narrates it as a kind of life, a kind of life with its own orbit, rigid, stable and somewhat boring, even without losing a little beauty and warmth. Only this kind of life can be endured by the majority of those who survive, and loved by the protagonist's mother, Christina, a teacher who is extraordinarily loyal to socialism because her husband defected to West Germany. When this kind of life is gone forever, people will take a long breath and turn to some nostalgia and some sense of loss.
I don't know if the director is from East Germany, but this film, made ten years after the merger of the two Germanys, did not simply explain the so-called "correct" politics, nor was it entangled in ideological trauma, but tried its best to present The delicate and complex side of life. The collapse of socialist Germany brought a complete change in the way of life for ordinary people: the Pioneers, football, pickles, professions, department stores… everything was changing. The huge image of Lenin flying through the air is just a symbol of farewell. When the revolution recedes, does life go on? What can transcend different social forms and different political positions, is it not the family and love between mother and son, father and son, and lovers? The story told in the film may be difficult to appear in reality, but the real and moving emotions it expresses are enough to make the audience forgive the exaggeration and absurdity of the plot. Farewell to Lenin and the past, however, the tree of life is evergreen.
So, even if it's a politically charged film, it shouldn't be criticized for it. It captures the core skill of how to deal with the relationship between art and politics: life is the ultimate politics, if you want to express politics more deeply, then write about life well!
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