125 mins |
Rated
M (Violence)
Directed by Michael Herbig
Starring Alicia von Rittberg, Friedrich Mücke, Karoline Schuch, David Kross, Thomas Kretschmann
The gripping and inspiring true story of how two ordinary families tried the most daring escape ever made across the East German border during the cold war.
The summer of 1979. Families Strelzyk and Wetzel want to escape Eastern Germany and delve into the freedom of the West. The two families have forged a daring plan: in a self-constructed hot air balloon, they want to fly across the border at night. When finally the weather conditions are ideal, they are ready to set off; however quite a few things go wrong and the balloon crashes just before it reaches the West German border. The Stasi find traces of the attempted escape and immediately begin an investigation, leaving the two families to build a new balloon under immense time pressure. As the Stasi close in with each passing day, a nerve-wracking race against time begins.
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The gripping and inspiring true story of how two ordinary families tried the most daring escape ever made across the East German border during the cold war.
The summer of 1979. Families Strelzyk and Wetzel want to escape Eastern Germany and delve into the freedom of the West. The two families have forged a daring plan: in a self-constructed hot air balloon, they want to fly across the border at night. When finally the weather conditions are ideal, they are ready to set off; however quite a few things go wrong and the balloon crashes just before it reaches the West German border. The Stasi find traces of the attempted escape and immediately begin an investigation, leaving the two families to build a new balloon under immense time pressure. As the Stasi close in with each passing day, a nerve-wracking race against time begins.