Heimsuchung

The film is set in 1989/1990 at a time when the "socialist" ideology underwent another major revolutionary collapse and the supposedly only progressive German "socialist", but walled-in GDR, joined the free West German society of the Federal Republic of Germany. In those days, the son of an East German teacher turns his back on the GDR because he is fed up with the eternal talk of the alleged superiority of "socialist" society and this "socialist" old day is nothing but dreariness and eternal gray everyday life for him. His mother, the convinced teacher and communist Christine Rautmann, suddenly realizes that her eternal propaganda of a golden socialist future is not falling on fertile ground with either her son or her pupils. She is suddenly faced with the ruins of her life as a teacher and mother. She herself becomes a seeker on a tremendously shaky social ground.

Directed by Edgar Kaufmann, Heimsuchung leans on a strong ensemble — Renate Geißler, Carmen-Maja Antoni, Gudrun Okras — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1990.