Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

allyatherton A woman escapes East Germany with her child.Starring Jordis Triebel, Tristan Gobel and Alexander Scheer.Written by Heide Schwochow (screenplay) and Julia Franck (Novel).Directed by Christian Schwochow.I seem to be on a bit of a run of late for watching foreign subtitled films.This German movie is left of centre, quirky and quite well acted. It's also a good insight into how things were on either side of the Berlin wall post war. It just about kept my interest although it lacks a little excitement. There's not a lot of suspense and it didn't exactly have me on the edge of my seat.It's interesting but easily forgettable. Not exactly a yawn fest but lacked any real entertainment value.7/10

Tom Dooley In 1975 Nelly's husband left her for a business trip – he never came back from Russia. We pick up the story three years later when she and her young son Alexej are given permission by the DDR – German Democratic Republic - to emigrate to the West. Original title of this German film is 'Westen' and it is in both German and English with good sub titles).Once she gets to the 'Promised Land' she discovers that things are not as rosy as she had been informed. This is her story. There is a lot more to it than above and it is timely for a release at the moment to show how attitudes were then to refuges and how, sadly, little has really changed.The period detail is excellent; the acting is great with Jördis Triebel as Nelly doing a performance that will guarantee future work offers. The issues that are dealt with are done in a way to show the human cost of prejudicial and judgmental attitudes, but there is a lot of love here too. This is one of those films that when it is over it will leave you wanting more – an easy one to recommend.

writers_reign In one respect of course this is yet another aspect of The Lives Of Others with a nod to Goodbye, Lenin but after all that it is another fine effort from German cinema. Once you get past the major problems - how is Nelly supporting herself and her son in the West. Towards the very end she announces to her son that she has finally landed a job - she is coy about what KIND of job, how much it pays, indeed ANYTHING - but prior to that she has managed to change outfits several times and outfits that appear to be expensive, and feed both herself and her son to say nothing of paying the rent> Like I said, get beyond this and we're talking half-decent movie and whilst it doesn't hurt one little bit that the lead actress has a strong resemblance to Ingrid Bergman neither does she need to rely on looks to get by. All in all a decent film with a great leading performance and strong supporting roles.

R. Ignacio Litardo I tried to like this film but could never get into it, the plot is unbelievable, at it rests on Nelly's character, that changes her mind and follows a logic of her own. Art direction is good, and actors do what they can with a story full of clichés, from the sexy "damsel in distress" to the bullied son, the love affair that makes no sense and ends as abruptly as it started, the friend who is always there and is taken for granted, the cool and also pretty neighbour who plays Bach but is reduced to being a cook and mistreated at it, her father who is a bit nuts but not really dangerous so we have to like him too, the ugly STASI female doctors, dumb looking officials- funny looking clothing-, menacing everything for we are supposed to empathize with Nelly who is being driven crazy by the German bureaucratic system.Sorry, it didn't work for me. Some people left at the showing here in BA, and I do understand it. The ending was a monument for cheesiness. The movie pretends to make us feel empathy x Nelly while using many Hollywood tricks like "mom-son having a good time", "Christmas making characters take the big decision", "overqualified Eastern Germans being reduced to menial jobs because of ...?", and the list could go on. Maybe I expected a good European film but got an average TV movie that looks like those manufactured for Hallmark channel and the like, only this was spoken in German.I do hope other people can see nicer things in this film, I sincerely couldn't. I wouldn't watch it.