Director Margarethe von Trotta effortlessly weaves history and personal events into a tapestry full of emotion and irony.
The Promise
A love, a hope, a wall.
1995 · 1h 55m · R
Drama, Romance
Directed by
Margarethe von Trotta
Overview
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.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
More films
Subway in the Sky (1959)
Crime · Drama · Thriller · Approved
Berlin provides the backdrop for this crime drama that centers on a military doctor falsely accused of dealing illegal drugs. Determined to prove his innocence, he escapes from the MPs and ends up holing up in the apartment his wife rented. He doesn't know that she has sublet the flat to a nightclub singer. When he finds out, he begs t...
- Runtime
- 1h 27m
- Director
- Muriel Box
- Cast
- Van Johnson, Hildegard Knef, Albert Lieven
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)
Comedy · Drama · Romance · R
After her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.
- Runtime
- 1h 38m
- Director
- Rebecca Miller
- Cast
- Robin Wright, Alan Arkin, Keanu Reeves
The Devil's Own (1997)
Crime · Drama · Thriller · R
Frankie McGuire, one of the IRA's deadliest assassins, draws an American family into the crossfire of terrorism. But when he is sent to the U.S. to buy weapons, Frankie is housed with the family of Tom O'Meara, a New York cop who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity. Their surprising friendship, and Tom's growing suspicions, for...
- Runtime
- 1h 47m
- Director
- Alan J. Pakula
- Cast
- Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt
French Twist (1995)
Comedy · Romance · R
After learning of her husband's infidelities, a housewife invites an itinerant lesbian to move in with them. None of their lives will ever be the same again.
- Runtime
- 1h 35m
- Director
- Josiane Balasko
- Cast
- Victoria Abril, Alain Chabat, Ticky Holgado
Underground (2007)
Action · Not Rated
In the UK suburbs, an underground tournament is set to challenge twelve fighters from different backgrounds to compete for the price of £500,000. They have been handpicked for a no-holds barred competition that will push each fighter to their limit. Each fighter has their own reason for competing, and each will give everything they've ...
- Runtime
- 1h 35m
- Director
- Chee Keong Cheung
- Cast
- Mark Strange, Nathan Lewis, Joey Ansah
Bodyguard: A New Beginning (2008)
Action · Drama · Thriller · R
Leung is the bodyguard of a Chinese Triad boss, Wong, to whom his loyalty is unrivaled. Living in Hong Kong, Wong requests that his bodyguard travel to the UK to protect a young British woman, whose true identity is known only by Wong himself. Even Wong's son, Yuen, is kept in the dark, which leads to a betrayal that threatens to destr...
- Runtime
- 1h 35m
- Director
- Chee Keong Cheung
- Cast
- Vincent Sze Cho-Lam, Richard Ng Yiu-Hon, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa











Comments
Talk about the film with other members