Steffen is an architect who lives in East Berlin. His wife Bettina is a teacher. They travel on their honeymoon to Prague, but Steffen is keeping a secret from his wife. His real intention is to go to the West German embassy and ask for asylum. The front door is being guarded by the Czech police, so they climb over the fence into the garden. There are already 1200 East Germans camping in the grounds claiming asylum. By the time the West German foreign minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, visits the embassy on September 30th 1989 there are 4000 refugees living in overcrowded conditions. But even in the embassy there is no safety. The East German secret police, the dreaded Stasi, has planted spies posing as refugees.
The main criticism of the film is that it concentrates on the personal life of Steffen and Bettina rather than the political events. For me that is what makes the film convincing. Anyone can read what happened in a history book. But it wasn't just politics, there were people involved, each with their own personal lives. The film shows us how a typical married couple were affected by the tumultuous events around them. This is a powerful film, definitely worth watching. In particular I recommend it to Germany's new generation who have grown up without knowing what it meant to live in a divided country.
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