The Architects is part of the DEFA Collection.

Daniel Brenner, an idealistic young architect in East Berlin, is deeply frustrated by life under the Communists. After receiving a plum assignment - designing a small city on the fringe of Berlin - he comes up with an innovative, fresh, almost cheerful plan. But his optimistic design comes at a price, both personal and professional.

Filmed as East Germany crumbled, this somber, finely drawn portrait of life in East Berlin is one of the first fiction films to deal both with both East Germany and the reunification period.

What the Critics are Saying

"More than any film in recent memory, it portrays the destructive impact that a spiritually cold environment can have on the human spirit." - The New York Times

Read That Was the Wild East: Film Culture, Unification, and the "New" Germany by Leonie Naughton