Gundermann
4th German Film Week

film review

Gundermann tells the story of the singer-songwriter Gerhard Gundermann (called Gundi by his family and close friends), a beloved yet problematic figure from East Germany who led a colorful, complicated life. The film presents many facets of his existence: a hero and anti-hero, a genius and jerk, a talented musician and poet who refused to leave his job in the mine as digger driver despite being busy with his artistic career, a staunch and stubborn activist and Marxist, a difficult and loving husband and father, and a former Stasi collaborator who began to realize the impact, on his family and friendships, of his years of involvement with the GDR. His image in the film seems to mirror a typical representation of the former socialist East Germany as one marked by vigorous contradiction, strong and surviving in its polarizing legacy.
 
Using varying timelines to evoke his fractured life, Gundermann zooms in on Gundi’s active years, as he works toward his music and write about his conditions and the conditions of workers around him, infusing poetry in his heartfelt compositions, and eventually performing on a tour with Bob Dylan and packing venues himself. In a remarkable gesture, the film dwells on having Gundi confront his Stasi past, putting him in the position in which he reflects on his past actions and process his guilt, laying emphasis on the importance of coming out about it. Gundermann succeeds at celebrating Gundi’s music, allowing the audience to see the difficult realities as the origins and backgrounds of the songs, but it also serves as a political study and statement, wrapped in the cloying coat of mainstream cinema, relevant to the current times.


- Richard Bolisay

Richard Bolisay is a writer and film critic based in Manila. His essays on cinema have appeared in various publications online and in print. He is a participant of the Berlinale Talent Press and Locarno Critics Academy, and has been part of the jury of, among others, the Hong Kong International Film Festival. He recently published a collection of essays on Filipino film entitled Break It To Me Gently.
Follow him on Twitter @richardbolisay.