Westler: East of the Wall

Felix from West Berlin falls in love with Thomas in East Berlin. For a time they keep the relationship going through Felix’s regular visits, but the curfew means he must return every evening. When the East German authorities grow suspicious, Thomas decides to try to escape to the West. The film presents the wall not as a political symbol but as a daily obstacle between two people. The account does not turn the escape plan into material for suspense; it tells how the waiting and the permitted hours build a pressure of their own. It was shot in West Berlin in 1985 and part of the eastern scenes were taken in secret. At no point is the relationship itself offered as something that needs explaining. Sigurd Rachman and Rainer Strecker appear in Wieland Speck’s ninety four minute German film, completed in 1985.