Synopsis:
This unconventional documentary highlights the Berlin Wall, its last days, and its highly anticipated destruction. Both seemingly banal and historical moments are captured and presented without verbal commentary. On the broken-down Wall, memorable motion-picture footage was projected - from Emperor Wilhelm's ride through the Brandenburg Gate, the torch-lit procession of the Nazis, the well-known filming of an East German soldier jumping over barbed wire into the West as the Wall was being built, to the fall of the Wall. The images are shown with a painter's sensitivity, shot against the acoustic backdrop of construction equipment, curious masses, and a relentless media. This masterpiece reflects the soul of Berlin.

Press Comments:
"Die Mauer is like a meditation with many brilliant moments." -- Stefan Reinecke in the Berlin Freitag of 07.12.1990

"Boettcher, who has often made his mark as a painter too, does not content himself with an ongoing reportage - from when the Wall was built right up to point of tearing down the monstrosity. Rather, he seeks to blend atmospheric and historical elements, takes pains to take original shots (we encounter Boettcher the fine artist again and again) and to create total tableaux of optical impressions around Brandenburg Gate." -- Volker Baer in the Berlin Tagesspiegel of 19.02.1991

"It invites us to contemplate. We can all relate the long images to our own experience and emotions, in particular, when Boettcher hits on the brilliant idea to have black-and-white documentary footage of 1961 projected onto the crumbling 'protective wall'." -- Ralf Schenk in the Berlin Wochenpost, 50/1990

Crew: Cinematography: Thomas Plenert Editor: Gudrun Plenert Producer: Stephan Roeder Screenplay: Juergen Boettcher

You may also be interested in:
Fall of the Wall: Part 1-2, The	That Was the GDR – A History of the Other Germany 2-DVD set	When the Wall Came Tumbling Down