NVA

For the recruits, getting conscripted into the National People's Army (NVA) means bidding farewell to sex and pretty girls, booze and LSD, and to everything they love, because – they're in the army now! For fledgling soldier Henrik Heidler it means bidding farewell to his beloved Eva, whose promise to visit him never comes to pass. Instead, he befriends the rebellious Krüger, who seems to have declared war on the inane rules of the army, which doesn't always end in his favour. Together with slimy Stadlmair, allergy-infested Traubewein and laid-back Mischke, they plod through basic training: marksmanship, throwing hand grenades, loads of political instruction, and what's apparently a part of it, the "hilarious" chicanery at the hands of the older recruits. When Henrik and Krüger once manage to slip away from the troops, Henrik meets Marie, an officer's daughter, in the woods. She tells him about the upcoming International Women's Day, which is soon to be celebrated nearby. Henrik suddenly no longer finds the prospect of a few more months of military service all that daunting. (Berlinale)