Der rote Kakadu

Broad performances, very interesting individuals in a wider story context than just a love-story or would-be-comedy about East Germany again, not so unnervingly 'funny' as »Sonnenallee« etc. The savage and insinuating violence of a dictatorial regime, the willingness of people to stick to their dream of a new society (Luise) just until it's shattered, are universal themes. The specialty of blatant disregard for the genocide and dictatorship that just took place and shook the earth is in this outcome very German. It struck me that the late regime is never a topic for those young people in the movie, the murdering of millions of innocent children, women and men because of their so called »race«. And then again, the characters are mostly too young for their part (but they surely have former Nazi-parents). But than I realized: it was never a topic in Germany as a whole those days, it was stored away in some dark cellar just to make it go away and don't come back until... a movie like »Sophie Scholl« came out about the few brave there were..., very human, very sad (even sadder that the latter became an Oscar-Nomination as even crap as »The Untergang/Downfall« did). But this movie does not pretend to be all this stuff, it is just more universal, less German, more intellectual, sensual, even the gags are more sophisticated than the regular German ones (they are good! - they make the characters edgier and even more lovable). I don't want to forget to mention the great acting, the touching love-story, the growing-up story. At first I didn't want to see another GDR-Movie but it turned out to be much more sophisticated and multi-angled than that. Very warm and focused on the characters, and Jessica Schwarz is lovably natural again without letting go the earnest part of her character - who wouldn't fall in love with her... go see it!

In April 1961, in Dresden, the teenager Siggi (Max Riemelt) meets the aspirant poetess Luise (Jessica Schwarz) in a park and falls in love with her. He befriends her husband, the womanizer worker Wolle (Ronald Zehrfeld), to be close to Luise. Siggi smuggles porcelain objects that belonged to his parents to West Berlin to sell and make money to go to a night-club with Wolle and his friends.

Meanwhile, the totalitarian system increases repression against the youngsters, forcing them to delate their friends and Wolle is arrested by the dictatorial regime. Siggi publishes the Luise's poems and she is arrested. Siggi assumes the blame to release Luise but when he is chased by the Stasi, he summons Luise to go with him to the West Germany. Luise promises to meet him but first she would bring Wolle with her. But on 13 August 1961, the German Democrat Republic begins to build the Berlin Wall.

"Der Rote Kakadu" is an unattainable love story having the historical moment of the physical division of Berlin as background. The triangle of love among Siggi, Luise and Wolle is weird and the story is too long and could be shorter. Along the romance, the director discloses how the dictatorial regime acted especially with the youths. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Um Amor Além do Muro" ("A Love Beyond the Wall")

I am English and live in London, UK. Alas, I don't speak German and I'm now too old to learn. The DVD, which contains interesting extra features, is entirely in German and contains no English SUBTITLES. This is a characteristic of many German films now on DVD. Could I make a plea to German film makers to provide English and other foreign language subtitles for their DVDs. Now we have the Internet your films can reach a worldwide audience. You'll increase sales and the money can go to making more films!

This movie is beautifully made and acted and the plot looks intriguing. But many of subtleties were lost on me because of the language problems. So please can the film makers produce a new edition of the DVD that caters to a worldwide audience. You'll benefit, too!

I have seen 'Der Rote Kakadu' just tonight and was amazed about it. After some so called 'Ostalgic' movies (from German Ost meaning East), which all told stories about and in the GDR, as if it had been a strange fairy tale country, this movie was different. At one point it shows the brutality of the totalitarian zero-tolerance system of the GDR at the start of the 60ies and at the same time it tells a differentiated love story. After the 'rote Kakadu' I was more than cured of all Ostalgia and understood more about the relationship between men and women, and strangely at the same time I was entertained extremely well! If I had to recommend a movie, as the critical person I am, I would recommend this movie to everyone, who wants to understand a bit more.