In Zeiten des Abnehmenden Lichts plot
East Berlin in the early fall of 1989. Wilhelm Powileit grins and faces his 90th birthday with stoic indifference. There isn't much the old man hasn't seen. A staunch communist for the past 75 years, he fled Nazi Germany and lived in exile in Mexico. Meanwhile, his stepson Kurt was arrested in Moscow as an alleged counter-revolutionary. After his return to East Germany, Wilhelm had limited opportunities to build a party career in the SED. This was due to the fact that he was considered an 'emigrant from the West'. But today the Young Pioneers serenade him and he is decorated with medals...