Haus-Kino: Silent Country

Stilles Land
Germany, 1992, 98 min.
Director: Andreas Dresen
With: Thorsten Merten, Jeannette Arndt, Kurt Böwe, Petra Kelling, Horst Westphal, Katrin Martin, Mathias Noack. Asad Schwarz, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Burkhard Heyl

Andreas Dresen′s debut film is set in the eventful days of the fall of 1989. Although the political landscape is in turmoil, the situation in the rural parts of the GDR is still rather quiet. The same applies to a small town theatre where young director Kai is staging his first production, "Waiting for Godot", of all things. But his enthusiasm is undermined by the cautious constraint and apathy of his cast. More and more, Kai relates the play’s imagery to the current political situation while, in the meantime, one member of the ensemble - like so many other Germans from the GDR - has fled to the Hungarian embassy. When the wall finally collapses, a trip to Berlin the ensemble had planned gets cancelled because of minor reasons - all they can do is witness all major changes through TV.