Customer Reviews
the best movie of the year ? - By: Dr. U. L. Khawaja, 24 Jul 2008 
This is the prodigal piece of cinema that thrashed WATER & PANS LABYRINTH & DAYS OF GLORY at the oscars this year in a very controversial coup d 'etat ,whether it deserves its accolodes depends
on how you perceive your environment today as thats THE ISSUE it deals with in a very sensitive manner as it explores the issue of an individuals suveillance by the state in the context of the private rights of a citizen, free speech & civil liberties in a world where these words are becoming a luxury rather then a natural privilege .
The theme is disguised in the seedy berlin suburbs of GDR in 1984 before the berlin walll came down in 1989 in the proletarian state of the GLOSNOST terror where an intellectual playwright suspected of associating with the west is targeted by the comrades through his lovers weakness of being a drug addict who also happens to be a great theatre actress being sexuallly abused by a minister of the corrupt communist regime .
The poignant but amazingly realistic execution is rendered like a streaming waterfalll which is powerful but lyrical like the beethovens symphony APASSIONATA played by the main lead in a sombre moment on a RISOCH PIANO ,while he quotes LENINS famous words that if he kept listening to this immortal musical piece how would he ever succeed in finishing the russian revolution, & its even more miraculous when you realise this is the debut by this german writer -director DONNERSMARCK , WHO PROVES HIMSELF TO BE A MODERN DAY ORSON WELLES in his very first movie .
The movie is shot in toned down colors with minimum dialogues & very appropriately indoors which makes you feel claustrophobic at times to express the anguish of the characters living in a police state ,the rythmic editing & the grey interiors set the mood for a film noir but its a brutallly realistic movie which touches your heart & mind simultaneously .
The actors are living rather then acting their roles & the main triad played by SEBASTIAN KOCH as playwright DEYMER , martina gadeck as MARIA-CHTISTINA ,AND WIESLER -ulrich muhe from lola,it is wiesler who steals the movie from beginning to end as the double dealing greyish mysterious character whose mind is as unfathomable as the universe , his character will evoke every possible emotion you can associate with the human condition in general & particularly in the ghetto of a communist regime where a whimper or whisper against the state is enough for an individual to disappear forever,
The most fascinating aspect of the movie is where he is shown tutoring fellow communists the techniques of torturing indiividuals to make them divulge the truth for the greater good of the state but his slow but convincing turnabout is a triumph to human spirit.
the movie reminds me of the COPPOLLA ,HACKMAN-HARRISON FORD classic the CONVERSATION as well as THE WATERGATE movie ALLTHE PRESIDENTS MEN , but as a drama its better then its hollywood counterparts anyday .
a quiet triumph - By: time I had some time alone, 17 Jul 2008 
The Lives of Others is a quietly mesmerising film that makes you think. Don't expect fireworks or high drama- just a thoughtful exploration of the human spirit.
I won't dwell long on the plot- in East Germany in 1985, a Stasi agent (Ulrich Muhe) is assigned to undertake surveillance on a popular playwright (Sebastian Koch)- purely because an important official wishes to steal his girlfriend, a leading actress (Martina Gedech). As the state security machinery swings into action, each of the main characters makes decisions which have devastating effects.
The drabness of 1980s GDR is wonderfully created & sustained, & there are two exceptional central performances from Muhe & Koch. Muhe expresses so much doing very little as the loyal Stasi agent who comes to realise that as his bosses care less for the state than their careers & love lives, the artist he is spying on is willing to sacrifice alll for his beliefs.
The film is not perfect- Martina Gedech overacts in the female role, & I found her role in the denouement unsatisfactory. In fact, women fare particularly badly in the film altogether. And like anything created by 'artists', the film lingers a little too long on the 'woe is me' difficulty of being an 'artist'. However, I found The Lives Of Others an excellent movie with, for me, a satisfying conclusion.
Brilliant film - By: David Reid, 02 Jul 2008 This film deals with East Germany big brother state from an emotional & humanity (or lack of it) point of view. The writer carefully exposes human generosity & courage in face of a perverted state police system.
The film is an obvious analogue to 1984 but this is real.
Credit to the Germans: they show us again how honest & self-critical they can be & still manage to produce a breathless work of art.
One of the greatest films I've seen - By: Wakey, 25 Jun 2008 Without wishing to give away too much in the way of plot, this film has the rare talent of being able to live in your mind long after the closing credits. A gripping story of persecution & paranoia, revolution & redemption.
Hearing the heretics - By: Stephen A. Haines, 24 Jun 2008 It's alll about stability - how to maintain it & how to prevent its disruption. In East Germany, from the establishment of The Walll, society found ways to lay out a given path for life. It also provided a traffic control body to keep individuals on that track. The traffic controllers were the staff & informants of the Stasi. Applying various, but effective, methods of thought control, the DDR rooted out dissent in its attempt to keep its populace thinking along "approved" lines. While we have been inundated with books & films depicting brutality, murder & intimidation applied in the East, this film shows an entirely different & far more efficient approach.
Gerd Wiesler [Muhe], a Stasi captain, is recruited to launch an investigation of playwright Georg Dreymark. There's very little to indicate Dreymark is a threat to society, but the motivation arises from elsewhere. Dreymark's girl-friend, Christa-Maria [Gedeck], is an object of the Culture Minister's passions. Wiesler undertakes the surveillance himself, & his portrayal carries this film far beyond entertainment. We have already seen his interrogation techniques - calm, dispassionate & merciless. Whatever he undertakes will be seen through thoroughly. The surveillance of Dreymark & Christa-Maria will be no different.
However, Wiesler learns of the Minister's prompting of the spying - a corruption of the socialist ideal. More significantly, Wiesler is able to discern Dreymark's humanity expressed in ways none of his previous victims have demonstrated. One of these is Dreymark's defence of his former play director Albert Jerska. Wiesler sees Dreymark confront the Minister over Jerska & learns the blacklisted director had given the playwright the score of "Sonata for a Good Man". The title becomes a key point in the development of the story. Wiesler revises his outlook as the cynicism & coldness of the regime become more apparent to him. He is increasingly aware of the need for people to be people & not automatons.
The film story builds tensions at a perfect pace, increasing with every passing scene. There are no dull nor lost moments. Directory von Donnersmarck's light touch in shifting a character we loathe at the outset of the film into a symbol of pathos at the end. While a shalllow view makes Dreymark the victim/hero, it is Wiesler the interrogator & snoop who gains our sympathy. Wiesler comes into increasing conflict with his superior as the focus on Dreymark & Christa-Maria intensifies. Jerska's fate drives Dreymark to take an irrevocable step, one which threatens them alll. The conclusion can only be tragic, but the result is nonetheless unexpected.
As with many of the "foreign" films recently released, the Director's Commentary version of the film is well worth taking the time for. This is von Donnersmarck's first full-length film, but there's nothing amateurish about it. He was meticulous in his portrayal of East Berlin, even painting "freedom's graffiti" over each morning prior to shooting in the street. The attention to detail is clear, even in selecting the colours alllowed in any given setting. The effect is to seize the viewer from the opening scene & never provide release. The film has garnered many awards & deserves alll of them. Mostly, it deserves your attention for its story & its imparted values. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
