Good Bye Lenin Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions for “Good Bye, Lenin”

1. What scene does the title of Becker’s film come from? What camera angles does he use in this scene? What is the effect on Christiane, Alex’s mother?
The helicopter carrying Lenin’s statue away is the scene the title is referring to. Camera angles are kept high from below Christiane’s eye line. It allows the viewer to feel as if they are looking up and simultaneously allowing the image of Christiane’s face. She appears bewildered in this scene. Confused about what is happening.
2. One of the best known lines from Scottish poet Sir Walter Scott is “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” Give a couple of examples of how this plays out in Alex’s
scheme to keep his mother unaware of the changes in her world.
All stemming from the beginning lie regarding the truth about the state of the GDR, Alex continuously has to raise the ante. Alex has to fabricate the news from the

East, acquire some of the foods that are increasingly rare now that the GDR has fallen, and go so far as hiring young boys to perform for her as members of the Young Pioneers.
3. In our usual moral code, lying is considered “wrong.” Do the lies Alex tells feel wrong? Why or why not? And is there any change during the course of the film about them?
The lies don’t feel wrong, but we have a wider perspective. He is lying to protect his mother from harm. As the movie progressed, I began to feel that his lies were becoming more and more unacceptable, but the director addresses that feeling by giving hints that the mother is aware. If she knows, and she understands the why, then it abates my negative feelings about what Alex is doing. He loves his mother. I may not have gone to such extremes, but I certainly understand the motive.
4. The film is, in a sense, built around Alex’s lies to his mother. What other important lie changes the course of his family’s life?
Christiane lied to her kids about the departure of their father. He did not run away with another woman to West Berlin! He was waiting for them; the whole family was supposed to flee.
5. What picture do you get of daily life in the DDR (East German?) Of life in the West? Are there stereotypes? Give a couple of examples.
Daily life in the GDR was state-centric. The totalitarian nature made impossible to go day-to-day without thinking about the government. If you were a bastion of support (much like what Christiane became after the Stasi questioned her about her husband’s disappearance), then there was less to worry about. By the way, I really liked how this was portrayed. Before the end of the film, you really felt you understood the reasons why Christiane became such a vocal supporter of the GDR. At the end, I found myself realizing (after her admission of her lie) that all of that “support” was most likely rooted in fear.
6. How do the voiced-over scenes at the beginning of the film, where Alex narrates his family’s history, contribute to the movie? What other movie that we watched are they similar to?
That reminds me of the Brechtian style Nasty Girl. It operates as a very quick way to deliver condensed background and setup for the film without making it much longer. It also establishes the main character (usually the person offering the narration.)
7. Both East and West Germany used TV to inform viewers of real events, but also for propaganda. How does Becker use this as an integral part of his story?
In a way, the “news” that Alex and his friend produce is absolute propaganda, but in a different sense. Ultimately, he uses the news to paint a picture of the GDR he wanted. The way he pictured it should have been.
8. What is the vision of socialism that Alex creates as the story progresses? Why do you think he chose the cosmonaut Siegmund Jähn to be the “next leader” of his fictional DDR?
He creates an idealized, very compassionate form of socialism. At times, I didn’t know if he is doing more for himself or for his mother. He chose his cosmonaut idol to be the leader of his government for his own completion of his idealized state; however, I think this was a bit of a clincher when it came to his mother fully seeing what he was doing for her. During the viewing of the final “news” in the hospital, Christiane keeps glancing over to Alex; she is not watching the video, she is recognizing how much her son loves her.
9. Some critics say that this film is part of the “Ostalgie” trend. (Ostalgie comes from the German word for nostalgia, “Nostalgie” and the word for East “Ost.” It means missing/longing for/idealizing life in the DDR) Does the film give a realistic picture of East Germany? Why would people from the DDR feel “Ostalgie?”
The film does not give a realistic picture of East Germany through Alex’s eyes, but the beginning scenes with the Stasi questioning Christiane seem realistic. I completely understand longing for or idealizing a socialist state- whoa nelly! I’m not declaring that I am a socialist, but I do have some socialist views but only in a perfect world does that level of humanity and community working for the greater good have a chance to work. There are certain human qualities that simply prevent it. I think those that felt Ostalgie from the DDR are caught up in an Alex-like daydream. The belief in how things should have been- a utopian state.
10.

How does Becker use the Sandmännchen to connect Alex’s past with the present?
When Alex goes to seek out and inform his father about Christiane’s deteriorating health, his half-siblings are watching the show. The Sandmännchen was a common tie between East and West Berlin (although two different productions between the two.)
11. Do you think the movie had a “happy ending?” Did his mother understand before she died what had happened to the DDR?
I think his mother absolutely understood what happened by her death. It was an odd ending. Happy in the sense that Christiane died knowing how much her children loved her and even had a reunion with her husband. Strange when you consider everything that occurred and Alex never directly telling her the truth. The only way Christiane could get to the truth was through the conversations with Lara and Christiane’s husband combined with her moments that she had peering through the veil Alex was so desperately trying to maintain.
12. What was your favorite scene in the movie?

Why?
My favorite scene was the one with the soldiers at the entry point (after some time had passed after initially open.) The scene of the soldier waving Alex through with drunks hanging on him and singing/yelling. The look on the soldier’s face and ultimately not caring whether or not Alex had documentation at all. That was a true representation of the fall of the wall.