Good Bye Lenin

I saw a Sony screening of Good Bye Lenin, a really enjoyable film about a family living at the cusp of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The mother is heavily involved in the Socialist Party just before she falls into a coma. Upon her return to consciousness, doctors warn her son and daughter not to shock her (for risk of her having another heart attack). But all around them, the West is encroaching, and the son decides to carry on the ruse of Old Germany in a redesigned room in their apartment. He goes to great lengths, convincing neighbors, former colleagues, and a former cosmonaut-turned taxi driver to carry on the charade.

Things I really liked:

• Visual Symbols -- rocketry/travelling into space, grand daughter learning to walk (as the mom recovers), Lenin statue flying away...
  
• Honest romance -- sincere, trust (not lust) based, tenderness, love
  
• The intertwining of historical montage and family life
  
• The depiction of young children as respectful, non-bratty, friendly
  

Minor Gripes:

• Use of other movie's music (Amelié)
  
• Coma motif -- reminded me of Talk to Her, another great film.