Sitting somewhere between Deutschland 83 and Goodbye Lenin in cinematic and thematic feel, and also in run-time as neat six-part series that offers a happy medium between a standard film and longer series. It has an engaging authenticity and the acting is solid and credible with strong performances all-round, save perhaps for some of the English (American) spoken parts sometimes sounding a touch artificial. The pace is enthralling and the story-lines are simple enough to follow, but deep enough to draw you into the moral dilemmas and stark choices that life in the GDR/DDR forced its citizens to live with. It's a incredible period in time (of modern history) that is always fascinating to re-examine in film, though often risks becoming hackneyed if not done well. However, the Same Sky does it proficiently and brings in original themes, such as the consequences of sports doping and a surprising tolerance of homosexuality in the Eastern German state. The only big criticism is that the series finishes with almost everything left up in the air, open for interpretation. It's unclear if this is intentional (I.e. as a bridge to a potential second series) or purposely framed to leave the viewer to ponder upon how the lives of the protagonists will unfold by using one's own imagination and future hindsight knowledge. The latter perhaps (although not necessarily) leads to a fatalist conclusion that none of the stories are likely have happy endings, and thus all we really need is to bear witness to those characters dealing with formidable challenges, hopes and ambiguities of those moments in time.
Review of The Same Sky
