In what I consider to be one of the most original and entertaining concepts for a screenplay, Good Bye Lenin directed by Wolfgang Becker, chronicles the rapid change in East Germany after the Berlin Wall falls and western ideology invades. While you may be thinking this sounds like a history lesson, the real twist is that it's about a woman who falls into a coma before the wall came down and wakes up after the bulk of the change has occurred.
The story centres around Alex, played by Daniel Bruhl, whose mother is the woman in the coma. Due to her fragile heart and weak condition she's bed-ridden and doctors warn that any shock could do her in - clearly an issue when almost nothing is the way it was.
Becker's film takes place in East Berlin which gives us a front row seat to the sweeping changes that occur while Alex's mom is out. For a young guy in his twenties, the shift is both energizing and overwhelming. The invasion of western culture is initially revealed tongue and cheek (hey, look at all the choices in the supermarket now!) but the onslaught becomes a burden to Alex's situation and creates a strong message for how despite the new found freedom, it wasn't really the Godsend promised either. To keep his mother stable, Alex retrofits her flat back to its East German glory - from the nightstands to the curtains and various Communist paraphernalia. In her weakened state Alex's mother's room becomes a microcosm of the country that was. Although, finding her old favorite foods is now made more difficult when the single brand she had been used to has been replaced with an entire row of options - ironically, all the wrong options for Alex's predicament.
Becker's film, while both lighthearted and upbeat, is actually quite successful at examining this defining moment in German history. The situation that Alex finds himself in gives him the opportunity to create the best of East Germany for his mother, the country that it was supposed to be, the country that he never really understood like she did. There's optimism in the message, reminding everyone that it was supposed to be so much better than what had become of it. I think it's easy to historically classify East Germany or the GDR as intrinsically evil (especially if you're from the West). With a communist government, they were a rival for just over 40 years after all. However, what Good Bye Lenin does so successfully is highlight the ordinary people behind the system who were really just trying to live their lives as happily as possible. Let me make it clear, Becker doesn't make excuses for the country or the powers that were, but instead he paints a picture that contrasts the ideologies from an East German perspective. The film explores how in many ways the invasion of consumerism and a free market really just created a new form of disparity - further emphasizing the radical transition. Imagine being in East Germany and suddenly seeing western business take over, the range in selection, the quality and choice increase. At the same time, picture the tackiness of it all, suddenly Burger Kings and Coca Cola everywhere you look, secure government employment replaced by minimum wage retail positions, and a shift in thinking from 'the good of the people' to the consumer driven 'me lifestyle'. While there are significant flaws in both systems, the point is that neither side got it right. And while the west paints the end of the GDR as a victory, the film simply suggests that being East German didn't mean or doesn't mean that your history isn't worth valuing. It's both hilarious and heartbreaking to see Alex cope with his mother's condition, hiding the truth outside, and maintaining the reality he's created inside. He goes as far as filming fake news reports, and getting the neighbours and old friends to go along with the lie. It's a human story that reminds us of the values that we should uphold no matter what the system of government. At it's heart, Good Bye Lenin is really about moving forward. Alex's story is about paying tribute to all those who had their lives turned upside down in the chaos. It's about giving East Germany, and all those people who grew up there knowing nothing else, a send off, a glimpse at what it was supposed to be, and perhaps most importantly, recognition of a new unified German history for a country that's only been re-unified for twenty years now.
Good Bye Lenin! is a charming, funny, and unique movie that brilliantly incorporates the chaos and excitement that surrounded the end of the Cold War. It's no wonder that it's regarded as one of the revival films for German cinema. Whether you're in the mood to just kick back or sink your teeth into something a bit heavier, Good Bye Lenin seems to balance these traits with the best of them. Simply, the Cold War never seemed quite so wonderfully innocent.
I assume that many wonder why I bother to advertise so many of the little milestones that I hit with my blog or projects. The truth is that I do it because it's any easy way to prove to myself that all the effort I put into these ventures is actually worth it. Sometimes when the feedback isn't flowing, these little milestones are just the thing to make me see the results of my time.
Look at this blog for example. The work it took to get it to this point, to develop the variety of content, to design the layout, etc; it's been fine-tuned to represent my specific style, my portfolio, my history - I'm selling myself and my creativity to further establish my strength as an editor. Trying to get people to care and take interest in your creative ambitions is always a challenge, but I feel I've gone out of my way to resolve my own excuses.
My online achievements also represent the difference between basing a blog on someone else's work and uploading other people's videos in comparison to building something from scratch. These numbers can certainly be topped, but I take a great deal of pride in knowing that I've had 75,000 people stop by this site because they were either interested in my content or I did something to direct them here. If I were to stop caring I know the views would dry up pretty quick, and I suppose that's as much of a motivator as any. I want to make it clear that I'm still just as excited as ever to see my projects grow and my site gain popularity.
If you care enough about anything there's always a good reason to celebrate. So, thank you guys for your continued support and interest in my videos, content, and for all the added motivation in keeping my spirits up and my resume expanding!
To say that my Indio Outio Project is a work in progress just doesn't quite sum things up at this point. It's now been half a year since that memorable road trip took place, and with exception to creating an elaborate coffee table book with my pictures, I haven't really done much with the hours of footage I shot up until now - that doesn't mean I wasn't trying though.
The biggest challenge was deciding on how I wanted to present the finished project, which ultimately influenced the kind of video(s) I was going to make. Originally, I thought I'd be leaning towards more of a personal-doc, similar to the lengthy Rushmore project I made in 2007. However, and if you click over to check out Rushmore, you'll see I ended up cutting that project down into select clips so that it was easier to share online. This reminded me of a legitimate issue with online screenings and had me thinking that even if I did make an elaborate 20 to 30 minute video, who, besides close friends, would actually stick around to watch it?
It was this problem particularly that had me hung up and re-editing portions of my footage several times from September through December. Should the video be just for me or do I want to share it? Well, I want to share it.
As several months had passed from the time of the trip it only became harder to address the footage and come up with a unifying theme - another big issue because of the variety of locales my friend Dave and I visited over a single week.
So here's where I'm at now, and I'm happy to report that the Indio Outio project is finally nearing completion after a renewed view that simplicity was definitely the way to go. I've cut together montage-style edits of each of the major locales or portions of the road trip that I shot from Alberta to California in August 2009. What I intend to do is release each of these edits as individual posts before finally summing up the entire project with a featured entry about the complete experience.
This scrapbook style is not only ideal for online viewing - say someone just wants to see a video of Salvation Mountain or Newport Beach - but it also gives me the chance to frame each section of the trip and put the various experiences into context.
A lenghtier project would've required a lot more energy on the viewers part, and let's be honest, most people just want a quick clip on YouTube. It's also the reason that I chose music that was relevant to what we listened to on the trip to cut my clips to as opposed to narrating everything (again, for the sake of keeping the edits versatile for the average viewer). Plus, a project like this is more about showcasing my editing style anyway.
My individual blog posts will help develop more of a back story, which will provide further insight for those who are interested. It's also a way to add that journal/personal-doc element that I originally wanted to incorporate.
I've also created a new 'Indio Outio Project' tab on this blog so you can check out all the updates (along with the complete edits as they appear) to unify both the trip itself and the experience and reasoning behind the process of making it happen (or not happen as six months have flown by).
To kick things off I thought I'd share a part of the original intro that I made for the Indio Outio Project back in September 2009. This clip is also where the first preview for the project came from. I'm sharing this now because my intent is to have a brand new narrated introduction that I can use to preface all the varied edits I'll be uploading and use it as a header for a video playlist.
Check back soon as the edits start to appear, and for now, enjoy this glimpse of how the project originally started out.
In what I consider to be one of the most original and entertaining concepts for a screenplay, Good Bye Lenin directed by Wolfgang Becker, chronicles the rapid change in East Germany after the Berlin Wall falls and western ideology invades. While you may be thinking this sounds like a history lesson, the real twist is that it's about a woman who falls into a coma before the wall came down and wakes up after the bulk of the change has occurred. 
To keep his mother stable, Alex retrofits her flat back to its East German glory - from the nightstands to the curtains and various Communist paraphernalia. In her weakened state Alex's mother's room becomes a microcosm of the country that was. Although, finding her old favorite foods is now made more difficult when the single brand she had been used to has been replaced with an entire row of options - ironically, all the wrong options for Alex's predicament.
It's both hilarious and heartbreaking to see Alex cope with his mother's condition, hiding the truth outside, and maintaining the reality he's created inside. He goes as far as filming fake news reports, and getting the neighbours and old friends to go along with the lie. It's a human story that reminds us of the values that we should uphold no matter what the system of government. 
