Now at the movies: The Hero of Friedrichstraße Station

Exactly one year ago, on 12 December 2024, Wolfgang Becker, director of such successful films as "Life Is a Construction Site" and "Good Bye, Lenin" and co-founder of X Filme, passed away. Just a few weeks before his death, Becker had finished shooting his last film – and now it is in cinemas: "The Hero of Friedrichstraße Station", based on Maxim Leo's novel, tells the story of a Berlin video store owner named Micha (Charly Hübner) who is on the verge of bankruptcy. Then a journalist (Leon Ullrich), looking for a sensational story for the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, turns him into a supposed folk hero: Micha, he claims, is the man who once orchestrated the largest mass escape from the GDR. The prospect of fame and a handsome fee tempts Micha to play the part, and soon he is celebrated by all the media as the "Hero of Friedrichstraße Station". But it is only a matter of time before he finds himself entangled in a web of lies and half-truths – and then he falls in love with Paula (Christiane Paul)... "The Hero of Friedrichstraße Station" once again combines all the qualities of Wolfgang Becker's work: precise social criticism, pointed dialogue, sensitively drawn characters and melancholic, warm-hearted humour. A worthy legacy – and a wonderful film experience.