Berlin Blues

In October 1989, the part of the West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg called SO 36, had been largely shut off by the Wall from the rest of the city for 28 years. A lethargic sub-culture of students, artists, bohemians and barflys had flourished among crumbling buildings. Part of that microcosm is barkeeper Frank, semi-formally called 'Herr Lehmann' by friends and patrons. He hangs out drinking, sports utter disregard for anything beyond SO 36 and lazily pursues an affair with cook Katrin. His lifestyle is gradually disturbed, when his parents show up for a visit, things go awry with Katrin and his best friend Karl starts to act strange. Meanwhile, political turmoil mounts on the other side of the Wall.

In 1980 West Germany, Frank Lehmann is drafted into the Bundeswehr because he neglected to object. As his petty-bourgeois pa claims his room for TV repairs, Frank moves in with hippie squatters in his natal Bremen. Just as in the army, his big mouth and naive honesty keep causing trouble. He's appointed unit spokesman and shows courage standing up for a virtual deserter. Back home, pacifists keep blaming him as if he volunteered. Trouble at the Berlin Wall changes a lot.