(A.K.A. WALL OF TYRANNY)
Freedom Fighter begins in West Berlin December 12, 1987. Victor "Vic" Ross (Tony Danza), a sad, lonely, and depressed retired PFC from the U.S Army in his late 40's or early 50's has returned to Berlin. While walking through the streets of Berlin on a rainy afternoon Vic reminisces about the East German girl he once loved while he was stationed in Germany in the late 1950's and early 1960's. On this date it is the anniversary of their first meeting 28 ago. As he approaches the crossing point where he and his love used meet before spending the day together, he remembers 1961 (when the border between East and West Berlin were only days away from closing), himself waving to Anna Mentz (played by British actress Colette Stevenson) the woman he loved and intended to marry, while she waves back. Anna runs up, embraces Vic and then kisses him while a young East German officer calls out to her twice, but she doesn't acknowledge him.
In the next scene Vic and Anna go to lunch at a cafe where we meet another main character: Max Rook (played by American actor/comedian Sid Caesar), an elderly East German who runs his cafe in West Berlin. Max lives in East Berlin with his wife Lina Rook (played by British actress Margery Mason), and both later defect from a building (based on the couple who jumped from the buildings on the border into West Berlin). While Vic and Anna are on their date, Anna reveals the identity of the young East German officer, Lt. Karl Pressler (played by British actor David Robb), an old aquaintance from her neighborhood who she's known for years, and is now in charge of the crossing point. As their conversation with Max goes from Baseball, to meeting Elvis Presley, and then bike racing we are introduced to two more main characters Rudi Donner (played by British actor Neil Dickson) and his wife Krista Donner (played by British actress Geraldine James), and their baby daughter Greta. Rudi and Krista are both East Germans, while Rudi is bike racer who is a hero to the people who will also not join the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED - Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands), ruling Communist Party of East Germany from 1949-1990. In the next scene he is about to race, when he is stopped and pulled from the race by the East German police and told to join the crowd for not joining the party. Back at their home, Krista suggests that it would be better if he joined temporarily when Rudi replies with a story about his father refusing to join the Nazis and later the Communists. Rudi then leaves and rides his bike to West Berlin where he works. He rides through the same crossing point that Karl Pressler is in charge of. He passes by nearly hitting a young East German soldier called Striemer (played by British actor Ben Daniels), where we meet the final main character, Sergeant Kemper (played by Scottish actor David McCallum) of the East German army while talking to the young soldier. They talk about Rudi for a few minutes before Pressler comes out and gives them a clue that something is going to happen. Kemper and Striemer than notice huge bricks being unloaded from trucks, and are puzzeled as to why. Then Kemper tells Striemer that Communists are no different from Fascists, and that no man could be a true believer. Striemer agrees. As we can see both men are staunchly anti-Communist, yet they joined the East German police, Later we see that Kemper himself is an ex-Nazi, who later brags about fighting Russian tanks during the final days of World War II.
Once the Wall goes up, the Americans appear and begin their "show of force". The night the Wall went up Victor Ross tries to look tough by threatening the East German police with his line "You willing to take on the American Army?";. Anna then thinks about her parents (played by British actor and actress James Greene and Merelina Kendall) on the East side. The next day he's with the U.S army in attempting to provoke a reaction from the East Germans. Later on a patrol, Vic witnesses the shooting of a defector Peter Fechter and was the U.S soldier that was rumored to have tried to help Fechter but told to stand down by his officer. On another patrol when two East German soldiers try to shoot some defectors with the approval of his commander Vic tossed a smoke grenade at the tower saving the defector. Why the East Germans didn't notify the U.S base commander about the incident is unexplained. With Anna in East Berlin Victor Ross joins forces with Rudi Donner after his defection to form an underground escape movement to get refugees out of East Germany knowing full well he would get court-martialed if he were caught. Once Rudi gets his wife and child over to West Berlin, plans to get Anna to the west go into action including Vic going over to the East. Vic would also witness the few actual defections caught on tape during the process.
Karl Pressler, a cold-hearted, ruthless, and yet buffoonish East German officer decides he will stop at nothing to keep Anna Mentz in the East as he watches her every move. Although a good soldier, Pressler isn't too bright (a common image US film makers gave Communist officers during those days). Three times he allows himself to be easily outwitted once by Max Rook, after the Wall went up where Pressler fails to convince Max that it was an East German decision without Soviet interference. The second time is towards the end where Pressler tries to convince Anna that she is blinded by Western propoganda, but she ends up throwing it back in his face. The third time is with Victor Ross, which should've been the easiest for Pressler to handle results in Victor getting the upper hand by convincing him that the GDR is a prison even for him and that the West is paradise of freedom. Another goof was the East German side arm. Pressler is armed with a Walther P-38 as were the other officers, a World War II German pistol and not the Soviet Makarov 9mm pistol which was the standard issue of hand guns to the East German military and police forces. It was the West German police and military that was issued the Walther P-38. Another depiction Pressler's moral weakness is when Kemper and Striemer defect with their guns aimed at Pressler and another East German soldier (based on the East German border guard Conrad Schumann leaping over the barbed wire into West Berlin). Apparently the other East German soldiers must have been on their coffee break.
Almost two years later in 1963, the film concludes with John F. Kennedy making his famous speech of hypocrisy to the people of West Berlin. The scene with Kennedy was the actual footage in color, while Vic, Max, Lina, Kemper, Striemer, and Krista with her daughter Greta (now 2 years old) are among the crowd listening to Kennedy, cheering him, waving US flags, and looking at him with such pride and admiration - as JFK gives his famous speech about enslavement, tyranny, evil Communism, and American paradise. Then we are back in 1987 where Victor Ross sees a familiar face, a young East German woman named Helga (played by British actress Geraldine Alexander) and learns of Anna. And the movie ends. Ironically this movie was released when the counter-revolution was just around the corner, and it made me wonder about why they didn't make a sequel after the Berlin Wall came down. This movie was just another piece of U.S propoganda designed to convince the westerners that the people of East Germany and the East bloc were like rats trapped in a cage, and it was somehow the duty of the American cowboys to go and rescue them by any means possible. Also by depicting the East German authorities as utter morons, gives the impression of them being completely weak in the soul, and brainwashed. This movie is available in the UK, Germany, and probably in the rest of Europe on VHS only. Freedom Fighter might be shown once or twice a year either on regular cable tv, or pay tv in other countries. It may also be available for rent at your local video rental store, AND SO IT GOES (a line often repeated in this movie).
Epilogue: My version
Here's my version of how it would've ended, had the movie been made after 1989. 4 November 1989, Vicotr Ross is in Chicago working as a carpenter. He had still maintained contact with Helga Mentz, Anna's daughter and her son; however still lonely and depressed. As he get off of work and heads home, he continuously hears about the changes taking place in Eastern Europe but has little confidence in it. Once he gets home to relax he flips on the TV and sees the demonstrations taking place in East Germany. Vic then says "Good job guys, but it won't last". Vic then heads over to his parents' house for a family dinner, where his father begins to hassel him again for not having a family. Knowing about Anna, he still feels there are other fish out in the see for Vic. But Vic dismisses it as usual, and continues to enjoy his family.
5 days later, Vic is stunned to get the news that people are crossing from East Berlin into West Berlin by just walking across. Stunned, he quickly informs his family and then his boss that he is going to Berlin to find Helga and her son. Upon arriving in Berlin he finds a hostel, settles in, and heads for the Berlin wall. As the hole was made in the Berlin wall where he used to meet Anna, Vic encounters an aged Krista Donner and a young woman at her side who is revealed to be Greta now almost 30. They greet each other with joy and happiness. But he then learns that Max and Lina Rook have passed away. From behind he is then greeted by and aged Kemper and a middle aged Striemer who join in the conversation. Moments later Helga and her son cross the opening and sees Vic. He sees her, and they run up and embrace. The following day Vic is taken to a cemetary by his friends and pays his respects to Max and Lina, as well as Rudi. Then he goes to a cemetary in the former east and sees Anna's grave. He weeps and tells her he loves her..."and so it goes".
After spending his vacation in Berlin, Vic goes home happy bringing Helga and her son for a visit. He then introdices them both to the family and reveals that while in Berlin he discovered that Helga was his daughter. Vic had become a father and grandfather overnight. The family is happy for him for they've not seen him this happy in decades, and of course with their new family members. However, Helga decides her place and life is in Berlin.
One year later, Vic is back in Berlin again visiting Helga and all of his friends. In the afternoon he goes to the cafe that was Max's with Helga and her son. While there Vic makes an unexpected discovery. Seated 4 tables down he sees a familiar face incognito. It was a man a bit older than Vic. As he gets a good look he finds that the man is Karl Pressler. Vic walks up to Pressler and greets him by saying "It was all for nothing. It amounted to nothing in the end." Pressler then lashes out of Vic with punches and kicks getting the upper hand. Vic manages a few strikes at Pressler, but Pressler is still controlling the fight. Vic is saved by to German police officers who pry Pressler from him, and discover his identity. Pressler was wanted by the police for his part is killing those who tried to leap the Berlin Wall, and was trying to lead an undercover life. Vic them informs a shocked Helga that Pressler was the one who kept Anna in the East. Helga the nattempts to attack Pressler but is held back by Vic. The police tell her after arresting Pressler that he will prosecuted and imprisoned, and that these is lots of evidence to do so.
Afterwards, Helga and Vic are releaved that Anna can finally be at peace. Family was reunited with the country, the hardships that followed in Germany after the capitalist reunification did not affect them, they lived happily ever after, and so it go
