02 April 2005

Distant Lights (Lichter), Germany 2002


The story of a group of people with their own separate lives in the German city of Frankfurt an der Oder (not Frankfurt am Main, ok?) This German city borders with Poland, and as you can guess, the Polish want to cross the border, which they can do quite easily by just showing their passports, and find a better opportunity in the rich country of Germany. We get to see a Russian family that tries to cross the border at night. We witness how a German owner of a mattress store exploits her Polish employer by not paying her any salary. It’s all a reality that we do not get to see, but this part of East Germany still suffers the effects of 40 years of communist rule. Each story in Director Hans-Christian Schmid's film is told in parallel, making the film more interesting, and the soundtrack, with its piano and string notes, is really unique.