Dear Thomas (2021): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2021, Dear Thomas is a drama film directed by Andreas Kleinert, running about 150 minutes.

What it’s about. Thomas Brasch was born as a German-Jewish emigrant in England in order to move to the young GDR with his family at the beginning of the 1950s. His father Horst is primarily interested in helping to build the new German state. But Thomas prefers to realize himself as a writer and in doing so discovers his potential as a poetic rebel. His very first play was banned and soon afterwards he lost his place at the film school. When the tanks of the Soviet Union roll through the Czech capital Prague in 1968, Brasch and his girlfriend Sanda and other students try to call for protest in the streets of Berlin - and fail. His own father betrays him to the Stasi and allows Thomas to go to prison. After being paroled, he continues to try his hand at poet writing about love, revolt and death. In the GDR, however, you don't want to have anything to do with someone like him.

Who’s in it. Dear Thomas stars Albrecht Schuch as Thomas Brasch, Jella Haase as Katarina, Ioana Iacob as Sanda and Jörg Schüttauf as Horst Brasch, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.5/10, Dear Thomas has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Dear Thomas page.

If you liked it. Fans of Dear Thomas tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.