Lichter

It is a slap in the face of all these rich, satisfied, egoistic, first world societies, who think that they are great, know better, and have more rights to live and spend than the poor on the other side of the fence.

We (some students, theatre people etc.) also tried recently to make a realistic feature, in our present times, shot on mini-DV, but this LICHTER is much, much better! I admire its realism, and how it could touch me within very few minutes, holding its tension for the whole time, and really caring for its characters. Believe me, I watch quite a lot of movies, but this does not happen very often.

It is a very sad observation of our economic situation, and the pressure which it forces on normal, small, everyday people. The need to make a living destroys their pride, their hopes, their humanity - and all this happens not far from the "Lights" ("Lichter") of the rich, promised land of wealth, where I live (I am blessed to live here) which is only a small distance away. Only a river to cross, but in fact the distance from poor to rich is nearly impossible to cross.

If you know "Lamerica" from Gianni Amelio or "Dekalog" aka "The Ten commandments" by Krzystof Kieslowski: "Lichter" has some similarities.

Saw it first when I was about 19 - left me in daze for several days. Rewatched with my husband 5 years later - similar effect. This movie just came into my mind today - you bet I am going to watch it for the third time, 14 years later. Curious what it will do for me this time.

Simply amazing storytelling. Sad and true told. A mustsee! Author takes you into the time where everything changes, people cheating each other out of misery and therefore messing up their own lives...fear and hope, love and despair...look for it in this movie and you won't be disappointed. Very important serious cinema still in a light way!

I've seen the movie just a month ago in a foreign film program in my city. I live in Juarez City, just in the border between Mexico and USA and let me tell you something that a good friend told me about it: "is the best movie I ever seen about Juarez city". Situations are the same and are truly reflected on the screen the reality on millions and millions of persons worldwide. It's very common to see persons trying to go to the other side of the river to get the "American dream" and in the mid time histories like the ones reflected on the movie took place every single day. The screenplay is very simple, and characters were well developed during the film. The most touching history was the "mattress guy". The actor transmits very deep emotions and exactly the same situation lived a good friend of mine here, miles away. Another strong history was the one related with the Ukrainian immigrants. Every year, hundreds of persons die in this city in their attempt to go to the other side, just miles away, were the lights are reflecting a different nation and in consequence different opportunities. The cast of actors were well selected and performances were simple, but convincing. This is the first film I saw from Schmid but I have to thank him for this extraordinary movie. As I think, there is no need to have a high budget to deliver a good film and this is another example that sometimes the simple is the best. Characters that could be identified with real people in real situations. At the end, the last scene defines and summarizes all the history: life is so strange and we can be touched by simple people forever. By films like this is why I like the movies.

This episode film draws quite a realistic picture on life on both sides of the German-Polish border. To the group of Ukrainian, stranded at the polish side of river Oder, the lights of the German town of Frankfurt/Oder promise a new life, wealth and freedom in the West. And nearly impossible to reach, as they cannot hope for asylum there. But life on the other side is also not as easy as it seems. We meet Ingo, who tries to make some money building up a mattress store and fails miserably; Katharina who has fled from the children's home and now makes her living of smuggling cigarettes over the border. On the other side of the river, there's the polish father who tries almost everything to get together the money for his daughter's communion dress; student Beata who works as a translator and also fulfills the more special wishes of her customers, as long as she gets paid. During the film, some of these people's ways cross, some don't, some try to help the others, some betray them, everyone struggles to make the best out of it for himself whether he or she is Polish, German or Ukrainian. One other thing struck my mind: In one scene of the film, Beata meets her German ex-boyfriend; when they start arguing, she shouts at him in Polish. He doesn't understand her and tells her to speak German and she answers: "If you had really loved me, you'd have learned Polish a long time ago!" He just says: "You can't be serious." I found this exemplary for many of the people, especially the Germans, that they don't understand the others, and they don't want to try. The people on the other side of the border, or those connected to it like German-Ukrainian translator Sonya, seem to help each other more, even though they also try to make their own profit by it, sometimes. Maybe this is the difference between the two worlds on the two sides of the river.