Little Felix Grosser is given a chest full of tin toys by old Mrs. Goldberg. The woman had once saved the toys for her future grandchildren, but her children were too busy working to start a family. Now Felix receives the old toy and Mrs. Goldberg warns him not to let it fall into other people's hands. Felix takes a white, dancing "magic horse" from the chest into his nursery, along with various other items. His parents, who are busy remodeling the bathroom despite a lack of materials, only find out after a while that the pony is a gift from Mrs. Goldberg, who no longer lives in the house. They have no idea about the chest full of toys in the attic.

Based on a switched identity, in circumstances that are found in real life as well as fiction, this drama tells the story of two soldiers fighting together in World War I. Karl (Joachim Latsch) and Richard (Hans-Use Bauer) become close friends while serving time in a German POW camp. One day Karl manages a successful escape and goes to Richard's home where he seeks refuge posing as Richard. But Richard's wife Anna (Kathrin Waligura) has never given up hope that her husband is still alive -- a possibility that would shatter Karl's proposed new life. In fact, Richard did not die in the POW camp. This film shared the Grand Prix award at the 1985 Berlin Film Festival.

Defectors from Hitler's army join the French Foreign Legion and end up in Vietnam in the late '40s.

A young man from an early age falls in love with a girl whose family is not in good standing with the ruling Communist party. His father however is a member of the "Stasi", the secret state police. The father not only hinders his son's relationship with the girl, but he arranges for his son, after finishing school, to become a Stasi spy himself.

Sonja is struggling to deal with her parent separation, and find her feelings for her best friend might not just be a phase.

Summer holidays are beginning for 13 years old Daniel, a boy from East Berlin. He does not know yet that his parents are going to get divorced. They are afraid of Daniel`s reaction, so they have not told him about their decision until now. Together they drive to a village in the mountains. There Daniel finally recognizes the truth about his parents marital problems. When Daniel has an accident, this brings his parents together again, at least for the moment...

Documentary filmmaker Paul Krewer follows his friend Thomas Ritter in the Peace Race, aiming to capture a winner’s story. When Ritter crashes and falls back, Krewer shifts focus to underdog Steve Baxter’s grit and teammate Falck’s unexpected lead. In a dramatic final stage, Ritter stages a comeback to win overall—and vows to uncover whether Falck’s last-minute mechanical failure was chance or conspiracy.

A story spanning three generations, from 1871 to 1945. When Gustav Wengler, a farmer’s son, returns from the Franco-German war in 1871, he goes to work for a precision mechanics and optical company, where he soon becomes a master craftsman. Wengler loyally promises the owner on his deathbed that his sons and grandsons will also stand by the company.

This biographical film is set in 1937, with Fallada suffering the effects of living under a microscope. The film details his decline, as he is intermittently imprisoned and threatened in order to motivate him to write for the Fatherland. Even the attention of his kind, patient wife and loving children begin to feel oppressive to him. This is one of the few films to take a serious, in-depth look at the tribulations of a creative artist pulled in all different directions by the real world.