“Love Your Enemies” is a powerful, well-acted film about an unexpected encounter between former East German leader Erich Honecker and the Christian family of Pastor Uwe Holmer after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Director Jan Josef Liefers masterfully exploits the absurd historical contrast in the film.

The story takes place in early 1990, when Honecker, following the political collapse of the GDR, is homeless and facing an impending trial. Together with his wife Margot, he finds refuge in the home of Protestant pastor Uwe Holmer in Lobetal, even though they hold completely different worldviews.

The film follows the uneasy coexistence of the two families: on one side, former representatives of the communist regime; on the other, practicing Christians who decide to offer help even to a man who stood against them both ideologically and politically.

Particularly striking are the scenes in which the Christian ideals of forgiveness and compassion clash with the Honeckers’ political intransigence. It is precisely these conversations that lend the film its intellectual depth and compel the viewer to reflect on forgiving someone who has caused great suffering.

Drama / Historical

Germany, 2022, 98 min

Titles in other languages: Honecker und der Pastor / Love Your Enemies

Directed by: Jan Josef Liefers;

Starring: Edgar Selge, Barbara Schnitzler, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Steffi Kühnert, Ilja Bultmann, Luca Gugolz, Stephan Grossmann, Oscar Ortega Sánchez, Pauline Knof, Axel Prahl, Levi Eisenblätter, Anna Loos;

Parents Guide:
A teenage boy is initially rude to Honecker’s wife. On several occasions, a disabled man drinks hard liquor or smokes cigarettes. Threatening letters to the pastor. Aggressive demonstrators. A few instances of taking God’s name in vain. A girl speaks on TV about abuse and sexual violence at the institution. A bomb scare and the decision by several people to stay indoors. Honecker kisses a man on the cheek.

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