Der gleiche Himmel

The show mainly revolves around Lars Weber (Tom Schilling) - A Romeo agent from East Germany sent out to seduce and retrieve information from certain female personnel of the West German government.

Though the plot seems deeply rooted in James Bond territory, the show quickly dispels this assumption by deviating from the generic alpha-male lead and instead opting for a young neophyte agent. One whose lack of experience leads him to act like an obedient schoolboy, scarcely questioning his superiors, still prone to rookie mistakes, but undoubtedly capable of maneuvering himself with impeccable finesse and apt vigilance.

Apart from Lars Weber is a multitude of well researched and astutely written characters and sub plots that successfully depict the daily struggles and momentary triumphs of Germans during the cold war. And while the story transpires in that era, many of its themes, such as the pursuit of freedom, the willingness to sacrifice oneself, or the unapologetic demonstration of fervent (albeit misguided) patriotism prove to be remarkably relevant to date.

The Same Sky is not a facile series that hinges itself on historical clichés and typical Hollywood thrills. It does not carelessly dismiss the east as a stifling communist dystopia nor does it gratify the west as a freedom-bloated paradise. Rather, it is a cleverly crafted opus that tells the story of the people of the cold war through an unbiased lens

This is a wonderful series. Gives a good sense of the life in East Germany during the 70's. I hope that there will be an additional season. There are several stories well embroidered into each other and they keep getting interesting and intriguing. Everything is well done, the scripts, the acting, the directing, the art, the music and the costumes. I'm looking forward to see then next season.

It helps if one lived in the time when this takes place as that would confirm what you understood was the case, but if not it accurately shows the tense, edgy and somewhat disconcerting feel of the time - when spying was not linked simply to some international government secret but an undercover operation when certain hired people spied on family, friends, coworkers and reported them in such a way as to make them enemies of the state. in that sense it's scary because it lives on in radical political environments even today. the 'Romeo' is not what one might expect in that he doesn't seem to fit into that category, but he does well with the role. one has to remind oneself that he is the enemy preying on unsuspecting victims in the name of the state. the production itself is not necessarily the best I've seen. it has a sort of cheap feel to it, BUT it seems to work anyway. it was good enough as an entertainment that if there is a follow up season, i definitely want to see what happens.

This decade, Germany has produced dozens of good films and series about life and habits during Cold War around FRG/GDR/West-Berlin, with versatile and intertwined plots, good character actors and apt understanding of environment and way of life. Der gleiche Himmel is another good brick in this wall, where focus is not entirely on one family, enabling to provide a broader picture of repressve, yet tragicomic life in socialist parts of Germany. The events seem realistic, perhaps the last episode rounded them up a bit hastily and "by halves" - apparently according to the filmmakers´vision. As mentioned, the cast is good as well, but here, I would like to spotlight the Swedish actress Sofia Helin as Lauren; for comparison, just watch here in "The Bridge" (Scandinavian version) and you will find out how talented and varied she is! Recommended to all those interested in German lifestyle prior to unification.

Living in the states as a German immigrant I am always excited to find intriguing mini series like "Generation War" on platforms like Netflix. This one started of extremely promising with wonderful cinematography, great costumes, interesting characters and great acting performances. Needless to say that Tom Schilling's talent adds to any production. When I watched the last episode everything began to shatter for me. None of the character's story lines were finished, no conclusions given. If this was a continuing TV Show I could deal with this a whole lot better but so far a second season has not been confirmed. The ratings on German television were rather mediocre so I doubt we will get the answers the viewers and the show deserved.