Bornholmer Straße (4 Stars)

This German film is subtitled "The incredible but true story of Colonel Harald Schäfer". The person's name was actually Harald Jäger, but apart from that the story accurately portrays the events at the Berlin border checkpoint Bornholmer Straße on 9th November 1989. Most people who know anything about German history remember 13th June 1990 as the day that the Berlin Wall fell. Literally, that's true. The 13th of June was the day when the Wall was demolished, but that was just symbolism. The 9th of November was the day when the Wall really fell, the day when it ceased to keep people trapped in the East. It was the most important day in post-war German history apart from 3rd October 1990, the day of German Reunification.

The story is told as a comedy, and I had to laugh out loud several times, especially in the opening scenes, but that doesn't change the fact that the story is historically accurate.

The evening began with a dog running across the border into East Berlin. This confused the border guards, because they had no regulations about how to deal with animals. The evening ended with 20,000 people crossing the border into West Berlin without even having to show their passports.

How can a cute little dog like this create an international incident?

This scene is Reverse Prattkeeping?

Harald Schäfer (right) discusses the problem with East Berlin's chief of police. They look extremely pally. I suppose it's okay as long as only their bellies are touching. Those were the good old days before social distancing.

Non-Germans might miss the humour in this scene in Colonel Schäfer's office. Erich Honecker had been the East German leader for 13 years, long enough to leave a mark on the wall. He resigned three weeks previously on 18th October 1989, claiming it was because of ill health, but really because of mounting corruption claims. There hadn't been enough time to find a photo of the new leader, Egon Krenz, and it wasn't even sure he would remain in power. In fact, Krenz resigned on 7th November, but he was re-instated on 8th November, so nobody knew who was in charge.

But what are they supposed to do about the dog?

This is an excellent film, and I regret that it's never been released with English subtitles. I strongly recommend it to any of my friends who are able to understand German. It's proof that the Germans have a sense of humour. They're able to turn one of the most important days in their history into a comedy.