In one respect of course this is yet another aspect of The Lives Of Others with a nod to Goodbye, Lenin but after all that it is another fine effort from German cinema. Once you get past the major problems - how is Nelly supporting herself and her son in the West. Towards the very end she announces to her son that she has finally landed a job - she is coy about what KIND of job, how much it pays, indeed ANYTHING - but prior to that she has managed to change outfits several times and outfits that appear to be expensive, and feed both herself and her son to say nothing of paying the rent> Like I said, get beyond this and we're talking half-decent movie and whilst it doesn't hurt one little bit that the lead actress has a strong resemblance to Ingrid Bergman neither does she need to rely on looks to get by. All in all a decent film with a great leading performance and strong supporting roles.
Review of West
