The German dramedy That Trip We Took with Dad reminds the American audience that Iron Curtain-style communism was NOT monolithic. The story takes place during a significant historical moment, when the Prague Spring was slammed shut by the Soviet invasion in August, 1968. Two Romanian brothers are taking their dad to a surgical procedure, which necessitates a road trip from Romania through Hungary, Czechoslovakia and into East Germany.
The primary point of view is from one of the brothers, a young doctor. Feeling responsibility beyond his years, the doctor is very, very practical. He will do what it takes to protect his father and brother, even if it means the distasteful task of informing to the secret police.
His younger brother is a naive artist who keeps criticizing OTHER Eastern European commie regimes in the knuckle-headed belief that the Romanian commies will leave him alone. The father is a once-true believer who now blames communism for the death of his wife.
Since the brother and the father are likely to blurt out the most provocative thing at any moment, each border crossing becomes dreadfully tense for the doctor – and for the audience. As with any Odd Couple (or Odd Trio) road trip, there is also humor.
That Trip We Took with Dad is a social and political satire of Iron Curtain communist societies. Our doctor also encounters some West German lefties who naively reject Western capitalism for its exploitation and inequality, ignoring or apologizing or minimizing the lack of free expression behind the Iron Curtain.
The family in the movie is Romanian of German ethnicity, and the story stems from writer-director Anca Miruna Lazarescu’s own family. Her introduction of the film for Cinequest is on this post just below the trailer.