THE TUNNEL

by Roland Suso Richter (Der Tunnel, Allemagne, 2001, 2h37, vostf)

starring Heino Ferch, Nicolette Krebitz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Sebastian Koch

August 1961, Germany is torn apart. A wall is built to prevent Germans in the East from fleeing to the West. It is against this backdrop that champion swimmer Harry Melchior uses false papers to flee the Communist oppression and escape to the West. He is free but is obsessed by one idea: to liberate his sister Lotte who has remained behind on the other side of the wall. Helped by a friend, Harry devises an utterly incredible plan: to dig a tunnel under the Berlin Wall.