East Berlin, 1961, shortly after the erection of the Wall. Konrad, Sophie, and three friends plan a daring escape to West Germany. The attempt is successful, except for Konrad, who is left behind. For the next 28 years, lovers Konrad and Sophie will attempt to meet again, despite the Iron Curtain.

Dreams are realized and promises are broken in this monumental film. Marrying the swooning heights of melodrama to a chronicle of European socialism, Margarethe von Trotta’s decades-spanning epic speaks volumes about the families, friends, and lovers who were torn apart by a divided Germany.