While this is a good movie, one should be aware that it does not reflect the reality in Eastern Germany all that well. It's not a documentary.

In preparation for the film, the director asked Christoph Hein, an Eastern German writer, to describe the typical life of a writer in Eastern Germany (which is what the film is about). At the premiere, Hein's name was included in the opening credits, but he asked to have it removed, because he couldn't see his story in the film. He described the film as being more of a dark fairy tale than a depiction of life in 80s Eastern Germany.