The Promise

The Promise (German: Das Versprechen; French: Les Années du mur) is a 1994 drama directed by Margarethe von Trotta, made as an international co-production between Germany, France and Switzerland. The story opens in Berlin in 1961, when Sophie and Konrad decide to flee the city together on a foggy day. Their escape does not go fully as planned, and the couple is separated: Konrad ends up in East Germany while Sophie settles in the West. Living in the same city under radically different conditions, the two lovers remain close in distance yet far apart, counting the days until they can meet again.

The film plays as a melodrama about the failed relationship between East and West Germany. Meret Becker and Corinna Harfouch portray Sophie at different ages, with Anian Zollner and August Zirner as Konrad. Von Trotta received the Bavarian Film Award for Best Director for the film, and it was chosen as Germany's official submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 67th Academy Awards, though it was not nominated. It also screened at the Istanbul Film Festival in Turkey.