Customer Reviews

Good Bye, Lenin!

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another great score from Yann Tiersen, and unlike Amelie this is entirely new music composed just for the film. Tiersen sounds even more like Michael Nyman here. Like Nyman, he shows the best that minimalism has to offer film scoring.

The music gently massages each scene, conveying the emotions at the core without bothering to hit every action onscreen like cartoon mickey-mousing. Instead, the music finds something deeper and mines it deftly and beautifully.

Like the other poster, my only problem with the album is that the music is totally out of order. To help any other fans out there, here's the correct film order, matched up exactly to my DVD of the film.

1, 3, 15, 4, 2, 6, 5, 8, 7, 17, 11, 9, 20, 10, 13 (0-1:48), 22, 13 (1:48-end), 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 18, 15, 11, 9, 11

Also, there's a single piece not written for the film, "Comptine d'Un Autre Été: L'Apres Midi," which is track 4 on the Amelie album. I assume most people buying Good bye Lenin will already have Amelie, so sticking it in the mix should be easy. That track goes between tracks 14 and 16, for when the family drive to The Dacha, which is my title for the track.

You'll notice tracks 15, 11 and 9 repeat at the end, those are the end credits. Finally, track 23 is not actually in the film, but I stuck it on the end of my mix CD.

Hope this helps, I know I'd have been really glad to find this info a few weeks ago.

I've tried to order the 23-track Good Bye Lenin soundtrack twice now, but Amazon sent me the 18-track (copy-protected) version each time. It's especially frustrating because they have separate pages for each of these two versions. I order it from this page - the one that displays the plain red CD cover and the 23 tracks, but I've had no luck yet. I'll just keep ordering it until they send the right one - and when they do, I'll post that here.

UPDATE: As promised, this is my long-overdue follow-up review, documenting my ultimately failed attempt to get the CD that they show in the photo. Although the CD that they'll ship you isn't exactly the one that's advertised herein (hence, only 2 stars), do consider it for the lovely music that it does, in fact, contain. Not a bad consolation prize, in all.

If you enjoyed the music then you must see the film. The premise for "Goodbye Lenin!" is simple. A woman has a heart attack weeks before the Berlin Wall crumbles. She lapses into a coma for eight months and her family is advised that to ensure her recovery she must not experience any shocks. Her son interprets this to mean that she should not be told about the political changes in Germany. A true believer in the East German model should never learn that her world had collapsed.

In addition to the core plot there are also a number of sub-plots. There is the human tragedy of families separated by politics; a love story and the ructions that occur within a growing family of three generations. Each is dealt with sympathetically.

As time passes, the ability of the son and family to continue with an elaborate hoax becomes harder and harder. To simply find old East German supermarket products becomes nigh on impossible. Also, the ability to even confine an invalid within one room fails as her minders let down their guard one day and she walks off to see the new capitalist world she never knew existed.

The film's climax comes with how the family eventually explains the changes to the mother. This is both deft and amusing.

I recommend "Goodbye Lenin!" to all thoughtful film goers. It addresses an issue that could never be handled by Hollywood. It is not a film of action but one that deserves a wider audience.

I ordered the 23-track version from Amazon.co.uk two days before Christmas and received it in less than two weeks. It costs a little less than 23 USD after shipping.

I also saw some sellers from the States trying to sell their 23-track version on the UK site, which I find to be a bit strange since no one is selling it through the US Amazon site.

i received the wrong cd (same problem as Paul in NJ "Paul") and have become very frustrated. i have been tempted to just keep this one, although i don't think there is a way for me to get the price difference back. ah well...

Yann Tiersen produces some truely amazing music. Get Good Bye Lenin, and also check out Amelie and Rue De Cascades.

But, as stated by another reviewer, be aware that this disc will not work in many CD players, and especially computer CD rom drives.

Apparently this is because the 'copy protection' on the disc breaks the CD standard.

I would suggest buying the music on-line.

Yann Tiersen's soundtrack for 'Goodbye Lenin' really fits the film. That's everything I can say: It's the perfect soundtrack for a perfect movie.

It is in all aspects! For those of you who have not seen the movie do so! The soundtrack compliments it so well. Just as in Amelie.And there certainly are parts that are very reminiscent of Amelie but overall well worth the buy.

Both soundtracks are superb for roadtrips. I used the Amelie for a roadtrip around Iceland. They work so well for out of the city driving. Try it!

I enjoyed the Goodbye Lenin soundtrack, but Run Lola Run was directed by Tom Tykwer.

The soundtrack is amazing, however beware! The EMI release of the Good Bye Lenin soundtrack is copy protected!! (In other words, you will not be able to transfer these songs onto your iPod and some CD players will not play the disc.)