I loved Lila Kedrova

Yes I felt very sorry for her too. She only really made a cameo appearance and she was the only one who seemed to be on Julie and Paul's side (they seemed like her only friends) and then she had to be virtually trampled, falling down the stairs. I think she should have definitely made an appearance at the end of the film, so she could just have that assurance that Julie and Paul made it alright.

Oh, to come to this board and see that other people think this too, what joy!

I really liked this part, to me it was the most moving bit of the film, and Lila Kedrova gave her character a heartbraking vulnerability that almost brought tears to my eyes.

The way she begged for them to help her to America - and the way she fought for her "sponsors" was so moving that it makes me like the film better alltogether.

Also, she gave the film a very becoming nuance which was the personification of the prison-like conditions in DDR at that time.

My A-me-ri-can spon-sor, sob, sob, sob