Goodbye Berlin

About the movie

With the birthday party of the most beautiful girl in the class coming in less than three weeks, the diffident fourteen-year-old teenager, Maik, has a lot on his mind. To further complicate matters, Maik's alcohol-dependent tennis enthusiast mother is in and out of the beauty farm--aka the rehab facility--and his real estate developer father is utterly indifferent. Under those circumstances, the unexpected arrival of the exciting new classmate, Tschick, will create quite a stir, when the class' rejects boldly decide to hit the road in an old "borrowed" light-blue Lada, going from uncool to cool in a split second. Little by little--as Tschick and Maik set off on an unforgettable joyride in East Germany's great outdoors--they will find out the meaning of friendship, and the thrill of the first love. This is going to be, hands down, the best summer ever.—Nick Riganas