The Lives of Others (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Germany, 1984: Capt. Wiesler (recently deceased Ulrich Muhe) is a wiretapping expert with the Stasi police. His most recent assignment involves listening in on a playwright whose views on life are against those of the totalitarian state. This man is Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch). But through his headphones, Wiesler's beliefs are put to test when he overhears 'The Lives of Others' (Dreyman's conversations on Western ways). Aside from some intermittently arduous moments, I find this German drama (directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck) to be gradually absorbing, emotional, powerful & impeccably written.
Wiesler is a well-respected man in his profession. He excels at teaching students the methods in which to recognize when a suspect is telling the truth or lying. To impress his superior, Grubitz (Ulrich Turkur), get ahead, and please the Minister of Culture (Thomas Thieme), Wiesler accepts a secret mission to surveil Western idealist, Georg, and his actress-girlfriend, Crista Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). For some reason, Grubitz suspects Georg to be a non-Socialist, hence the mission at hand. And to add complication, the Minister of Culture wants Crista for himself (with Georg out of the picture, she'd be all his). Georg Dreyman's apartment is bugged, & Wiesler listens intently for probable cause to arrest him. What he does not expect is a budding interest in Georg's personal life.
The more he listens, and the more he bangs away on his typewriter (for reports), he becomes engrossed in Georg's Western thoughts, as well as his passionate, yet tedious relationship with Crista. Knowing that his 'reports' could surely ensnarl Georg & Crista into a Stasi arrest (ruining their futures by way of indefinite incarceration), Wiesler actually begins to protect them by failing to report vital information! To say that the Stasi lead cold, rigged existences is an understatement. Georg & the people in his circle dip their toes heavily into the arts, philosophy, & love. The Stasi are afraid of these ideals and would only want to banish people who believe this way. With lives at stake, can Wielser save Georg & Crista before the Stasi realize what's going on? If he can, will his deceptive actions violate Stasi law and destroy his career? In a Pre-Glasnost world, will Wiesler be able to live a life of meaning and fulfillment?
This film shows a world where there is little-to-no justice (nearly a century of German rule). Thank God the secret police/Berlin Wall came down in 1991. By looking at the lives of others, Wiesler was able to look at his life (void of love & free thought) and become fascinated with Georg & Crista's. The acting is superb, but Muhe stands out as the low-key Wiesler. We watch his slow realization that a life of spying & interrogation is not the way to go. Full of miniscule nuances, Muhe uses the dilation of his pupil, the flick of an eyebrow, and the slightest purse of a lip to ignite a nail-biting scene of tension. Another scene that gets me (using a completely different nuance) involves Wiesler listening in on Georg play 'Sonata of a Good Man' on the piano. It's just a beautifully captured moment.
The film is quite dark in mood, deaths occur, but it concludes on a startlingly warm note. The poignant ending still lingers on with me. 'The Lives of Others' runs slow in some places. But because its dilemmas are so wonderfully honest, the movie crept up and punched me in the gut by the end. I commend this near-masterpiece for its riveting, intelligent, realistic look into the violation of personal privacy, and it's resoundingly unfortunate consequences.
Wiesler is a well-respected man in his profession. He excels at teaching students the methods in which to recognize when a suspect is telling the truth or lying. To impress his superior, Grubitz (Ulrich Turkur), get ahead, and please the Minister of Culture (Thomas Thieme), Wiesler accepts a secret mission to surveil Western idealist, Georg, and his actress-girlfriend, Crista Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). For some reason, Grubitz suspects Georg to be a non-Socialist, hence the mission at hand. And to add complication, the Minister of Culture wants Crista for himself (with Georg out of the picture, she'd be all his). Georg Dreyman's apartment is bugged, & Wiesler listens intently for probable cause to arrest him. What he does not expect is a budding interest in Georg's personal life.
The more he listens, and the more he bangs away on his typewriter (for reports), he becomes engrossed in Georg's Western thoughts, as well as his passionate, yet tedious relationship with Crista. Knowing that his 'reports' could surely ensnarl Georg & Crista into a Stasi arrest (ruining their futures by way of indefinite incarceration), Wiesler actually begins to protect them by failing to report vital information! To say that the Stasi lead cold, rigged existences is an understatement. Georg & the people in his circle dip their toes heavily into the arts, philosophy, & love. The Stasi are afraid of these ideals and would only want to banish people who believe this way. With lives at stake, can Wielser save Georg & Crista before the Stasi realize what's going on? If he can, will his deceptive actions violate Stasi law and destroy his career? In a Pre-Glasnost world, will Wiesler be able to live a life of meaning and fulfillment?
This film shows a world where there is little-to-no justice (nearly a century of German rule). Thank God the secret police/Berlin Wall came down in 1991. By looking at the lives of others, Wiesler was able to look at his life (void of love & free thought) and become fascinated with Georg & Crista's. The acting is superb, but Muhe stands out as the low-key Wiesler. We watch his slow realization that a life of spying & interrogation is not the way to go. Full of miniscule nuances, Muhe uses the dilation of his pupil, the flick of an eyebrow, and the slightest purse of a lip to ignite a nail-biting scene of tension. Another scene that gets me (using a completely different nuance) involves Wiesler listening in on Georg play 'Sonata of a Good Man' on the piano. It's just a beautifully captured moment.
The film is quite dark in mood, deaths occur, but it concludes on a startlingly warm note. The poignant ending still lingers on with me. 'The Lives of Others' runs slow in some places. But because its dilemmas are so wonderfully honest, the movie crept up and punched me in the gut by the end. I commend this near-masterpiece for its riveting, intelligent, realistic look into the violation of personal privacy, and it's resoundingly unfortunate consequences.