Synopsis

2001
Panorama Audience Award, Berlinale

2002
Best Film, Best Actor, German Film Critics Association Awards

In early 1989, East German soldier Martin Schulz is sentenced to 11 years in prison for an accidental killing. Upon release, he finds a world unrecognizable—Germany is unified, the Berlin Wall is gone, and his old life has vanished. His wife has moved on, his son barely remembers him, and the apparent freedom of the West feels tainted by hostility and greed. Struggling to find his place, Martin finds himself imprisoned once again, highlighting the darker realities of capitalism.