Silent Country

Showcasing the early work of German writer-director Andreas Dresen, this double-disc set includes his 1992 first feature Silent Country (Stilles Land), a fine comedy-drama about a theatrical troupe in a provincial town trying to mount a staging of Waiting for Godot while watching the slow fall of the Communist government on television, and six short films Dresen made as a student in East Germany from 1987-1990 (the last, about a blind date, is set in the period after the fall of the Berlin Wall). All of Dresen's work exhibits a keen eye, solid pacing, and gentle sense of humor marked by compassion rather than cynicism. Three of the student films are documentary-style pieces, one about a young man dissatisfied with his factory job, another centering on a youth doing his obligatory army service, and a third featuring a group of East German “peace corps” volunteers in Zimbabwe. The other shorts include a touching anecdote about a boy mourning his brother's death in the war, and a comedy about East German trains that don't run on time. A rewarding introduction to a talented filmmaker, DVD extras here include a “making-of” featurette on Silent Country and a recent interview with the director. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)