Deutschland 83 (2015) - TV Series (8 episodes)

Having been to Germany I could only imagine the difficulties and hardships that would have been faced both in East and West Germany, especially in towns like Mödlareuth where a small village was literally divided in half.  It was nick named “Little Berlin” by the Americans between 1949 and 1990 cause just like the city Berlin, it too had a wall that divided the Russian and American Sector.  

There have been quite a few movies showing glimpses of life in divided Germany such as the 1961 Billy Wilder comedy One, Two, Three starring James Cagney as a Coca-Cola boss in West Berlin who is given the task of looking after his boss’ troublesome daughter, the fantastic Guy Hamilton (same guy who directed some Bond films) 1966 film Funeral in Berlin which stars Michael Caine as British agent Harry Palmer sent to Berlin to assist the defection of a Russian official (this is the second film in the series, the first being The Ipcress File).  However, there are others that detailed life behind the wall such as the outstanding 2006 Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck eye-opener The Lives of Others which shows the Stasi (State Security Service) in action as they spy on some artists in East Berlin. These are only three of many films made both during the Berlin Wall/Cold War era (1949 to 1989) all telling the story from a different point of view.

In Deutschland 83 (set in 1983) however we have a story being told during the latter years of the divided Germany where the nuclear threat was high.  The East German HVA (Main Directorate for Reconnaissance - Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung) recruit rookie Martin Rauch to infiltrate the West German army to learn more about the West’s military capabilities and in particular their abilities to conduct nuclear warfare against both East Germany (GDR) and Russia directly.

Martin goes to the West and learns the ropes of being a spy quickly and gains trust yet is torn between the love for his girlfriend and sick mother who are left behind in the East and susceptible to, shall we say, “encouragement” from the secret police and need to serve his country and protect the East from possible attacks. As the threat builds, Martin's involvement gets deeper and deeper and decisions become harder especially as close relationships are formed.

Put simply, the show is absolutely brilliant in virtually every way, be that production values, storytelling, nail-biting suspense and of course the awesome 80’s soundtrack.  The use of actual footage adds to the realism of the whole show and the actors are simply fantastic.  The whole thing gets you in and leaves you wanting more out of this 8-episode series.  Thankfully there is a Deutschland 86 being done though it doesn’t come out till 2018 and there is hope that a Deutschland 89 will also be done (1989 is when the Berlin Wall came down).

There are a few scenes of nudity but overall it is a brilliant series that is most certainly worth watching.  The series was purchased through Google Play however there is a DVD available in your local JB Hifi for Aussies.  Apart from the nudity and one or two gay scenes, it comes very highly recommended.

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