7 reviews

A story with many twists and turns, extremely easy to watch. You feel as though the director could easily have finished it early and gone for a conventional finish, but the ending is superbly handled and subtle. The way in which the relationship develops between Wiesler (the Stasi operative), and the two he is assigned to watch and listen to, is the core of the film and very interestingly handled. A great and intense performance from the actor playing Weisler (Muhe) carries the film. A must-see.

Tom 29 Jul 2007

A wonderful film with so many layers - definitely one to talk about afterwards over a glass of wine. I found it very real and satisfying. The key question "Are you still on the right side?" followed by the only possible answer, makes a really clever turning point. I am left wondering how communism managed to follow on so quickly from Hitler and which was worse.

SarahVC 8 May 2007

It's 1984 and life in East Berlin is drab and virtually colourless. Under grey Eastern Bloc skies, Hauptmann Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) goes about his job as a member of the State Security service, the Stasi. Not an inherently ‘bad’ man, Wiesler is simply a dedicated civil servant who is very good at his job. He doesn’t shy away from the unpleasant aspects of the job, but his intentions never seem malicious: he simply believes in what he’s doing.
The Lives of Others follows Wiesler as he is assigned to eavesdrop on a successful playwright and his actress lover. Things become complicated, however, when it becomes clear that the mission has little to do with state security and everything to do with the personal desires and ambitions of his superiors.
With echoes of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, Wiesler finds himself trying to do what he thinks is right, and at odds with the system that he has done so much to support. The interference of the state pushes the otherwise loyal and pragmatic playwright towards dissent and, just as in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, our emotionally mute surveillance expert finds himself getting involved in the events he intended only to passively record.
The film’s structure builds up into something like a bleak farce as the story wraps itself tighter and tighter around the lives of the protagonists, forcing them together. The ominous atmosphere and carefully handled suspense leave the viewer anxious, not so much about whether something bad is about to happen, but how bad it will be and how many of the characters will survive.
This sense of menace is accentuated by the dull palette, grey skies and strip lights with which the film is shot. (West German) debutant director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck has been criticised for making East Berlin seem more dismal than it really was but the effect is integral to the story, powerfully conveying the sense of oppression of a society in which your neighbour could well be informing on you.
In amongst the gloom, Mühe’s almost puppy-dog blue eyes shine out from his near-expressionless face. Despair, anxiety, sorrow and hope barely register a twitch of his facial muscles, yet it’s hard not to empathise with this very human cog in a faceless, inhuman system. And despite all of this, there are comic and almost heroic moments that prevent either the characters or the audience giving up hope.
It is not a film that leaves you with a song in your heart but neither is it ever difficult to watch. The pacing, performances and atmosphere were strong enough to win it last year’s Best Foreign Language Oscar and it’s hard not to feel a little giddy as you absorb what you’ve just watched, following its plausible, almost-upbeat ending.

Marwood 30 Apr 2007

The most thoughtful and felt-through film about agents and subjects of a regime I have yet seen. A masterpiece.

moisha 29 Apr 2007

Wow, you don't get many gems likes this one! This movie is very character driven which makes it very absorbing. It's hard for me to describe the story accurately because my history is atrocious...

As mentioned, this is a tale set in East Germany in the 70s/80s where the secret police rule with an iron fist. The central character who plays the agent goes through a transformation as he surveils a writer/actress couple struggling to conform with the regime.

The atmosphere is moody, and yes the film is in entirely German, but this isn't a bad thing. Rather it adds to the whole experience. The subtitles are easy to follow and do not hinder the viewer's enjoyment of the movie.

Overall a great piece of drama that comes highly recommended. I'd give it a 9 out of 10.

Serious Sai 25 Apr 2007

This is the most wonderful film I have seen for years. Don't be put off by the subtitles, you just won't notice them.

Archie 23 Apr 2007

In communist East Germany, whose drabness, paranoia, confomism and simmering discontent is persuasively evoked, a Stasi agent is redeemed through close surveillance of a writer and his actress partner, whose goodness gradually turn him against his profession and the regime, with dramatic and terrible results for all of three. The central premises - that an artist who adheres to the regime can nevertheless be a 'good man', and that a senior Stasi agent could be so easily and emotionally turned - seem on reflection implausible. But this in no way hinders enjoyment of a quietly thrilling and at times moving film.

erica 19 Apr 2007