Zwei Zu Eins
Comedy about a group of friends who, in 1990 – on the eve of official reunification – hatch a clever plan to convert millions of stolen East German marks into goods. German box office hit with Sandra Hüller and Ronald Zehrfeld.
Based on incredible true events, Zwei Zu Eins revisits the summer of 1990. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) found itself in legal limbo, full of uncertainty over the challenges of reunification. In a major step toward reunification, the East German mark was to be exchanged for the West German currency within six days – at a rate of two to one. But where to store 400 tons of soon-to-be worthless East German banknotes? Putting them in an underground vault near Halberstadt seemed a logical solution at the time.
Director Natja Brunkhorst has spun the premise of this ‘treasure of Halberstadt’ into a light-hearted adventure story about fortunes and fairness, friendship and family, and given it a top-class German cast. Three friends stumble upon the millions in GDR currency in an old tunnel and decide to take advantage of the looming arrival of capitalism. They stuff their backpacks full of cash and hatch an intricate plan with their neighbours to systematically put the soon-to-be worthless money into circulation. While the story initially centres around the prank pulled on the West Germans, it soon focuses on the questions facing the protagonists: What if they actually become rich? And whom does all this really belong to?
Zwei Zu Eins also offers a successful mix of Ostalgia (nostalgia for the old East Germany), humour and the chaos of a world in transition. The three main characters are from former East Germany – a deliberate choice of director Brunckhorst.