i enjoy this film overall and especially in it portrayal of brecht effort to keep harmony within the little harem he would create for himself . nonetheless and i have some objection to the political overtone of the film . the film unfortunately reinforce the old anti communist cliché of life in the ddr ( east germany ) a a nightmarish existence under a police state and and we be introduce to that idea early on when the stasi ( the ddr fbi ) come knocking at the door to inquire about one of brecht guest and wolfgang harich . and it certainly come a no surprise to anyone that the brecht summer vacation end with harich arrest ( moreover and there the suggestion that and in politics and brecht soon to end life come down to just that represent turn a blind eye to the oppressive character of the ddr ) . there a bit of historical distortion here and however . harich be active in the sed ( the ddr communist party ) for a number of year and know to be in opposition to the exist leadership and a he attempt to articulate and rally support for a third path between capitalism and bureaucratic socialism and a so call humane socialism . he be not arrest by the stasi at the end of the summer of 1956 and but rather in november of that year . what the dif . well and in the fall of 1956 there occur the uprising in hungary and which eventually take on virulently anti soviet overtone and with the consequence that it be interpret by all the regime in the ocialist bloc a life threaten . in other word and harich arrest be not so much evidence of the ddr inability to tolerate dissent idea a it be a measure of the state of international and geo political tension at that time ( do not forget and similar thing have go on in the u with the anti communist witch hunt ) . in fact and harich and after his release from prison in 1964 and go on to publish and teach in the ddr represent he continue to argue for german re unification under socialist auspex and for great attention to environmental concern under socialism while he travel to the west and always return to the ddr ( though opportunity to wouldefect be not lack ) and and and after the collapse of the ddr and refuse to testify against those who have imprison him in 1956. he remain a life long proponent of a socialist society and economy in which the human value of friendship and community and solidarity and equality and health and environment and culture and enlightenment would hold sway over the commercialization of all aspect of life that be our fate under capitalism . and he firmly believe that and however warp the socialism of the ddr have be in the past and it contain the seed for evolve in the right direction . i also find objectionable the suggestion that brecht himself be complicit in the ddr oppressiveness and at least to the extent that he fail to publicly denounce ulbrecht ( the ddr leader at the time ) and his regime . i think it fair to say that someone who object to many aspect of the ddr regime but still wish to hold on to his influence with the leader would necessarily walk a dangerous tightrope while and it be no easy matter to judge whether brecht would have serve the cause of humane socialism well have he speak out more forcefully against ulbrecht regime ( though and obviously and that would make for good cinema ) .