What happens when your dreams die before your eyes? That's the question
at the heart of this impressive German film, set at the end of the Cold
War. The Berlin Wall is coming down, and everyone's rejoicing at the
triumph of freedom, democracy and the consumer society - except for
Hannah Flanders, a West German communist. As the world shifts on its
axis around her, she loses her bearings and locks into a
self-destructive spiral. With a terrific central performance from
Elsner, the film deftly mixes personal and political, making for a grim
but affecting account of a life lived on the edge.
