Viewed: 28 November 2003
Directed by: Margarethe von Trotta
Listed in: Movies, Class

The Promise is a post-Berlin wall film that focuses more on life in the GDR with voyeuristic western eyes. It showed East Germany as I wanted to see, oppose to Solo Sunny which showed the GDR as it was. On their final night in the GDR, teens are dancing to American rock and roll. A daring plan to escape through the sewers to the West is successful, except one member Konrad is left behind. But life for him is not so bad and the GDR is good to him, until near the end of the film. The film travels through history from the 1950, to Prague in the 1960s and finally to the fall of the Wall. The GDR is depicted as a state that tries to do good, but in its misguided interests, fails its citizens. I enjoyed it, it showed me what I’ve been looking for of the GDR.