Another one of those strange films I owe to RAI Storia. How else would one come across a German TV production about a spy tale set in the era of the fall of Berlin Wall?
The story opens quite rapidly and we get introduced to the double life of Saskia - a German woman who works at the US embassy in West Berlin. Neither his American husband nor their teen kids are aware that she in fact was not Saskia but the daughter of a high ranking East German soldier trained to penetrate into enemy ranks.
After the action-pack outdoor events of the party night at home during which she pretended to be laying sick (don't worry, it never sinks down to Mr and Ms Smith kinda superficial parody) we dive deeper and deeper into her psyche and personal history.
She's just too real a person to not like or empathize with.
The setting of 1989 Berlin looks extremely surreal as we are at the edge of the 90s (civilian lifestyle, punk kids etc.) while the Cold War is still ongoing with methods and mindsets from the 60s. It's almost like the job and the ongoing political developments are creating different time capsules for our protagonist as the story unfolds, not to mention the flashbacks.
I must confess that I found the lead, Petra Schmidt-Schaller, not just impressive as an actress but also very alluring as a woman. She's natural and down to earth, yet, has a very strong presence that captivates the scenes.
Yes, that was just a TV movie. No cinematic depth in photography, none of the extremely expensive sets and lighting Hollywood people would pour into such a story. But it was well made, or at least sufficiently handles with regards to technical aspects. The story carried everything else as it was really interesting to witness how the double agent was going to handle the situation as her own side was dissolving, Stasi files (including hers) was eventually gonna be sold to the USA.
As for the downsides:Tthey could have handled better the third act. They could have used less time by editing down some of the elements, created a more convincing scheme and visual setting for how Saskia handled the microfilm chest, etc. There was a bit too much of back and forth as we approached the finale.
However, I find such productions more valuable than pumped up Hollywood stuff like Bridge of Spies. For this is a German film, we get to see and breathe the reality of the era from the point of view of those who actually got affected by it directly. The mood and the character of the whole deal is different even if certain aspects of the story are inevitably familiar.
What does the film lack? Humor, I guess. Not even dark humor, which could work with the concept.
But still, I'd recommend it to those who like their spy thrillers with a grain of realism.
