allyatherton A woman escapes East Germany with her child.Starring Jordis Triebel, Tristan Gobel and Alexander Scheer.Written by Heide Schwochow (screenplay) and Julia Franck (Novel).Directed by Christian Schwochow.I seem to be on a bit of a run of late for watching foreign subtitled films.This German movie is left of centre, quirky and quite well acted. It's also a good insight into how things were on either side of the Berlin wall post war. It just about kept my interest although it lacks a little excitement. There's not a lot of suspense and it didn't exactly have me on the edge of my seat.It's interesting but easily forgettable. Not exactly a yawn fest but lacked any real entertainment value.7/10

paul2001sw-1 As it's name suggests, Christian Schwochow's 'West' is a film about the West, but also the East: specifically, about cold-war Germany. Its central protagonist, wonderfully played by the beautiful Joerdis Triebel, is a somewhat arrogant east German who, on crossing the iron curtain, struggles to cope with the demands made of an unconnected immigrant in a strange country; but who also struggles with the legacy of her past. The film neither glosses over the evils of the eastern regime, nor suggests that life in the west is a simple panacea; above all else, it demonstrates the fatal way that police states damage the institution of trust in a way that cannot easily be repaired. The ambiguous figure of a rumoured informer provides a focus for a powerful story that is ultimately more about people than systems.

Philip Rogers As others have observed about this film, the idea of a woman who seeks to make a new life for herself (and her son), yet finds it difficult to do so, is territory that has been explored before. And, for people who are familiar with German-language films in general, the ideas explored in this film probably seem very familiar indeed.Speaking as a person who has not seen a significant number of German-language films, I found myself very engaged with this story from start to finish. One of the aspects of this story that I think others might connect with as well, especially for anyone who has ever gone to live in another country for a significant length of time, is how difficult it can be to overcome the many obstacles that exist, some of which are placed in front of you by the government of your new country. Thus of the many challenges that our protagonist has to overcome, seeing how a government official often has to place a stamp in a document to get past them may be all too familiar (and painful) to many of us, regardless of what country we might have gone to live in. Some of the other obstacles put in the way of Nelly in her quest to build a new life will also be very familiar to many, for instance, how the fact that she has an advanced degree, and how her experience with doing research in a lab setting, is looked at as far below the standards of her new country (whereas in all likelihood, she would be more than qualified to do the work in West Germany, just as she had been in East Germany). I suspect that if she had been a man rather than a woman, she might have gotten more favorable treatment -- but that is a topic for another day, and for other films!One of the most important parts of the story has to do with the extent to which Nelly's paranoia gradually increases as time goes by, fueled in no small part by what she is led to believe by the character John Bird. As others have observed (and likely will continue to observe), the way their relationship plays out is one of the less satisfying aspects of this film, and even though I have not read the book, what I've heard from others leads me to believe that John Bird's character in the film is not developed to nearly the extent that it could have been.I found the most fascinating character in the film to be Hans, who is one of the other residents in the government housing complex with Nelly and her son, Alexej. (On a side note, I would say that there are three characters that are particularly well-developed and well- acted, specifically, Alexej, Nelly, and Hans.) In Hans, we have a character whose past is largely unknown to us, and it is through his character that we come to understand to what extent xenophobia is rampant throughout this housing complex, in that he is widely viewed as a Stasi informant. We at first only suspect as much based on dismissive glances in his direction, and ultimately find confirmation that this is the case when he is brutally beaten. It is this type of dynamic, and how it was expressed, that I found to be one of the most insightful aspects of this film. The centerpiece of the film, and in my view its most powerful aspect, is how the relationship between mother and son evolves as they react to their new environment. With Alexej, we observe a very natural inclination to want to spend time with Hans, especially as Nelly's paranoia grows ever stronger, which erodes her relationship with her son. And, Nelly too succumbs to the temptation to paint Hans with the same broad brush as everyone else (other than Alexej). I would say this difference in perspective, between mother and son, on their experiences in their new country, is expressed in a very profound way, and we are left to wonder how it will impact their relationship after the credits roll.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) When I watched this film, it was titled "Westen" (The West), but it looks like they're going with "Lagerfeuer" (Campfire) now. Anyway, based on a novel this movie was written by Heide Schwochnow and directed by her son Christian, a true family project not too common in the world of modern movie-making. For those two, it's already their fourth project together.Jördis Triebel won the German Film Award for Best Lead Actress here and while I liked her performance, I have to say I thought Juliane Köhler would have been my choice. My favorite performance in "Lagerfeuer" comes from Alexander Scheer who some of you might know from "Sonnenallee". He plays the love interest to Triebel's character here and so does Jacky Ido ("Inglourious Basterds"), who to some extent represents the main character's arrival in the west. Scheer on the other hand, stands for her roots in the East. There is no real solution which path Triebel's character chooses, although a lot links to Scheer.All in all, it's an okay movie, doing justice to the whole GDR topic including an interesting part about all the different stamps you need to become a FRG citizen, but also bringing nothing really new to a table that has been laid uncountable times. Tristan Göbel shows that he is one of the more talented child actors Germany currently has and his character included some interesting references such as his scarf or the way school looked like back then in general. What I also liked about the movie is that there is no solution too the boy's father's disappearance. It's just not all black and white.Finally, I think the film is worth a watch for those who are interested in the whole East/West Germany conflict or just like movies centered around strong female characters. All others can skip.