What makes it different from others?

From my favorite movies..

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

I am sure that those who have at least their childhood (like me) spent in a pseudo-socialist undemocratic country, would watch Sonnenallee with sense of recognition, with things most of us have probably aimed to forget. On the other hand, when you are young, minor, your perceptions are still different from those of adults, who are in need of living on and supporting their family. First love, new music, friendship, coming of age, hobbies, plans for future are universal. In my opinion, all those aspects are well and realistically (now one can giggle or laugh out these absurd things) depicted in this movie, with convincing performances by an even cast. By the way, the Soviets would have vacated all streets close to their "enemy", odd that it was possible to live so close to the Berlin Wall.Furtermore, I would disagree with them who think that Sonnenallee is a kind of glorification of the GDR. Really? For nonrenovated houses, constant shortage of even crumbling goods, brainwash by authorities, fear for police and "rats", strict punishments for harmless pranks, limited travel options, etc.? Those who do had apparently a "good" life at the expense of others...I can hardly guess how films like this would act upon the people unaware of socialist dictatorships. Perhaps they would regard them as unintelligent comedies. But the film in question could be shown more within the former Eastern bloc.

When I saw this movie I was in Germany for a period of studying with my university, and in the first days I was there, we attended a small course to let us know something more about German culture... anyway, in those first days our teacher proposed to see this movie, because she thought it could be useful for us, and she was right!! I didn't understand all the things the characters said ( I didn't know so good the language at that time ), but I could understand the major situations and make myself a small idea of the atmosphere the people in East Berlin lived in... the great thing is that they make it not with a drama, but using irony, awkward situations and lots of fun!! I will see it soon again, but I recommend it to everybody if someone wants to laugh, but also to think a bit about the problems the totalitarianism brought with it. Ciao dall'Italia!!

The movie is fun to watch and there is a lot of truth in it, but there are also lots of inaccuracies and exaggerations - especially the first minutes are almost unbearable. Some are for the humorous effect, but I feel some are because of lack of care.'Goodbye Lenin' definitely is the better movie.The character of Miriam remains very shallow, she mutates from the teasing and arrogant girl to Micha's girlfriend, but hey, it's a comedy, character development needn't be realistic.I loved that the neighbor turns out not be in the stasi but an undertaker, and that the "rich West kid" really is a valet parking cars and gets into deep trouble in the end.So after all, there are stabs at both East and West Germans. Fair play.

The movie is located in a Berlin street of the 70's - the Sonnenallee. The street is divided by the Wall. Micha and his friends live on the other side of the Wall - in the East.This movie shows us that DDR-Kids were not very different from those in the West. They are not interested in politics or communism, but in what is much more important: SEX DRUGS AND ROCK 'N' ROLL!In addition to this interesting insight into everyday life in the DDR the movie is really funny. There are so many comedy elements in it. There is for example a scene in which a East German soldier tries to explain to a West German why the Eastern radio is superior to the Western technology - it has less functions and is therefore easier to handle. And the disastrous party is just great... But - just watch it!