Germany, 1983. A country divided, and a boy torn apart: his heart in the Socialist East; his duty in the Capitalist West.
24-year-old Martin Rauch (Jonas Nay), an East Germany border guard, woke up in the West to discover he was to be a spy, a worm planted by the Stasi—the East German secret organization—within a West German military unit to gather intelligence on the West Germany-United states communication.
“The West is on the offense,” declared Lenora (Maria Schrader), Martin’s aunt, a high ranking Stasi officer responsible for his recruitment. Martin was to become Moritz Stamm, a first lieutenant and aide-de-camp (personal assistant) to General Edel (Ulrich Noethen), a close contact of a top American General.
He refused, naturally, and Lenora countered with an offer to ensure his sick mother gets a position on an organ transplant waiting list, an offer which grounded Martin back to base—a West German one. What followed was Martin acting his way through a series of missions as Moritz, while using the 80s state-of-the-art spy gadgets (tiny cameras and floppy disks, anyone?) to deliver confidential information to the East.
Deutschland 83 seamlessly weaves in a cast of colorful, conflicting characters, each with their own intricate backstories relating to the historical backdrop, into the main espionage plot. Though the tone is supposedly solemn, as the Cold War tension tightened between East and West Germany, ironic, dark humor and surprisingly light moments are peppered throughout the episodes. Seeing West Germany through Martin’s East German eyes has never been more entertaining. The rookie spy is baffled by the West’s luxuries, finding telephones and Western etiquette foreign. There is a single scene in episode two which I particularly enjoyed, almost an emotional peak of the episode.
The eight-part miniseries is currently airing on Sundance TV, all in its native German, with subtitles provided, establishing it as the first German-produced, written, and, directed television series to be airing on a United States network. Though some scenes have strange editing and direction, the dialogues are cleverly written, the plot solid, and the show’s gorgeous costume and set design truly transports the audience back to the 80s. The soundtrack, both the original score and the song selection (from David Bowie to Duran Duran), serve as perfect backdrops to scenes, capturing the characters’ intensity and emotions, and involving the audience into Martin’s mission-of-the-week.
The rookie spy tries his best, but circumstances outside his control, other characters’ meddling (intentional and unintentional) in Martin’s life, and certain pieces of information kept from him by his aunt turn each mission into another adventure, another knot he has to untie, at whatever cost. To survive, Martin must risk his life, lives of others he cares about, and even those he loves most.
If you’re looking for a Cold War drama in the style of The Americans, but served with a 1980s twist as a coming-of-age thriller, be sure to check out Deutschland 83. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
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