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Poster for The Promise
CNC

The Promise

1995 115 min German

“A love, a hope, a wall.”

East-Berlin, 1961, shortly after the erection of the Wall. Konrad, Sophie and three of their friends plan a daring escape to Western Germany. The attempt is successful, except for Konrad, who remains behind. From then on, and for the next 28 years, Konrad and Sophie will attempt to meet again, in spite of the Iron Curtain. Konrad, who has become a reputed Astrophysicist, tries to take advantage of scientific congresses outside Eastern Germany to arrange encounters with Sophie. But in a country where the political police, the Stasi, monitors the moves of all suspicious people (such as Konrad's sister Barbara and her husband Harald), preserving one's privacy, ideals and self-respect becomes an exhausting fight, even as the Eastern block begins its long process of disintegration.

Where to watch

Not streaming anywhere

Not on any streaming service in United States, and not available to rent.

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Cast

25 people

Margarethe von Trotta Director · Peter Schneider Writer

First release February 16, 1995 · Produced in France, Germany, Switzerland · Languages Czech, English, German

Production

C

CNC

Production

O

Odessa Films

Production

S

Studio Babelsberg

Production

C

Canal+

Production

W

WDR

Production

N

Neue Bioskop Film

Production

S

StudioCanal

Studio

B

Bioskop Film

Production

C

Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée

Production

W

Westdeutscher Rundfunk

Production

France · Germany · Switzerland

Produced in

Languages

Original title

Das Versprechen

Original language

German

Spoken on screen

Czech · English · German

Release dates

Germany · February 16, 1995

Theatrical

No release date listed for United States.

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