ABSTECHER

In 1991 the director takes a slow train from Berlin to Jüterbog with the words of Friedrich Schorlemmer from November 4th 1989 fresh in his mind: the age of stagnation is long gone, now begins a time of breathtaking change. The film searches for traces of these changes in the everyday life of eastern Germany; in discussions with commuters and glances from the train window. The perspective of the passengers is supplemented by snap-shots of the surroundings they transverse. With unsparing scrutiny the director records a state of affairs characterised by a painful new beginning rather than a perception that the country finds itself on the cusp of a new tomorrow.