Willkommen bei den Honeckers (2017)

The waiter Johann Rummel from Frankfurt (Oder), who wants to become a journalist shortly after reunification despite not having an Abitur, takes every opportunity to get close to prominent people, since he otherwise sees no chance of getting anywhere with the press. One of his first “victims” is the singer Heino, whom he visits in his hotel room and manages to get a photo with. But that is not enough for a breakthrough in journalism; the editor Johann has contacted expects something spectacular. Since the media are currently reporting every day on Erich Honecker and his flight to Moscow, where he has taken refuge in the Chilean embassy, Johann decides to write a letter to the former head of state of East Germany. In reply, he receives a kind of autographed card with a personal dedication. This makes a slight impression on the editor, but he expects more. Johann sees his chance when Honecker is transferred from Russia back to Berlin. To make personal contact with Honecker, he writes him another passionate letter steeped in communist ideology. He claims to have founded the League of Young Communists and to have Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler as an adviser. This seems to convince Honecker, who replies this time not only with a photo but also with a very personal letter. Johann’s commitment and (feigned) glowing praise of Honecker lead at times to conflict with his girlfriend Jenny, while his friend Maik feels increasingly sidelined. Maik’s camera is also broken after Johann persuades him to try to take a photo of Honecker. Although everything has just gone wrong, Johann does not give up. He writes to Honecker again, who has meanwhile gone into exile in Chile. He continues to present himself as a committed young communist who supposedly has a growing group of like-minded people behind him and wants nothing more than to meet Honecker in person. To make that happen, Johann somehow has to get to Chile. He gets the money for the trip from pressman Jochen Trommler, who is hoping Johann will bring him “the story.” Johann’s persistence and resourcefulness thus get him not only to Chile but also a future internship at the newspaper Der Tagesbote, for which he is now doing research. Once in Chile, Johann first checks into his hotel room and plans his next moves. That same day, he has himself driven to Honecker’s home and enters the property carrying a bunch of red carnations. Margot Honecker greets him at the front door and does not really want to let him into the house. But her husband welcomes Johann with great enthusiasm. Margot remains suspicious, however. She tries to protect her visibly ailing Erich. But she can see how much good it does him to make plans with such a committed young communist. Honecker will not allow a photo, though Johann absolutely needs one. So he asks if he can come back the next day. But even then, Honecker still will not allow any photos. It is only on the third day that Johann’s persistence pays off. Since he has only a small camera with him, not a professional one, the Honeckers do not initially become suspicious. As Johann is about to leave the house, Margot Honecker receives a phone call that exposes the deception, but Johann manages to get away in time with the photos of the former head of state. Back in Germany, he presents his story to Jochen Trommler, and it is announced on the front page the very next day: “At Home with Erich Honecker – This Is How the Deposed East German Dictator Lives in Chile.” At the end of the film, a photo of Erich Honecker is pasted onto an advertising column, whereupon two young boys deface it. One of them loudly wonders who the man in the photo is. The other boy says he does not know either.