Mein Sommer '88 - Wie die Stars die DDR rockten

I stumbled on this engaging little documentary quite by cosmic accident, and against my expectations I was entertained and educated in equal measures. This came as a surprise to me, since I am a.) NOT a Springsteen fan, and b.) NOT particularly interested in life in Former East Germany.

I am however of the target age group, having experienced the summer of 1988 in similar ways - going to concerts, rocking out, and wearing some of the now-decidedly- dorky-looking fashions of the era, and I have a working knowledge of German.

So for me part of the charm of the film was reliving the excitement of scoring concert tickets, of seeing a rock idol on stage, and the whole craziness of being young, which is apparently universal. And then comparing and contrasting my experiences (West of the Wall) with those of an Ossi teenager.

And this is where the film shines, in my opinion, because it is not heavy handed about this contrast. Rather there are little snippets that speak volumes; for example how the stage set up had to be accomplished, because such extravagant things as cable cover mats were not available in the East, or the whole propaganda angle.

There is plenty of old footage to satisfy a fan, interspersed with "where are they now" interviews, and all contained in the unifying narrative of the protagonist.