Synopsis
The idea for DEUTSCHBODEN? “I want to get out and go where hardly any of us have ever been before – to Hardrockhausen.” The reporter Moritz von Uslar takes a close at hand but nevertheless spectacular step for his novel by simply leaving Berlin to immerse himself into the everyday life of a small East German town just 60 kilometres away.The film is – just like the book – a thoughtful story involving insider observations which makes for a great piece of contemporary history. It describes Germany, 20 years after reunification, in a sometimes drastic but always loving and completely original way. On the outskirts of the big city, in Brandenburg, the reporter Moritz von Uslar sets off in pursuit of East German clichés like unemployment, alcoholism, emigration and right-wing radicalism. With great empathy and intuition Uslar observes and describes what he discovers in the provincial town: a pils at the bar, a barbecue under the German flag, hanging out at the petrol station – and the everyday life of young men who, although they may not have a particularly great future ahead of them, have a pretty keen sense of humour.