Unlike most movies that wear their hearts on their cinematic sleeves, "The Lives of Others" (Leben der Anderen, Das) hides its message beneath layers of subterfuge.
On the surface, this is a story of love, lust, and politics set in East Berlin in 1984, but underneath lies an exploration of the corrupting influence of power, the painfulness of exclusion compared to the privilege of inclusion, man’s inhumanity to man, the tortured soul of the artist, the measure of a good person, and mankind’s ability to change for the better. In German with various subtitle options, this feature debut from writer-director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck was a big winner at the German Film Awards, Bavarian Film Awards, and in America received an Academy Award for best foreign language film 2006.
Tale of Intrigue and Suspense
The Lives of Others delivers an intricate tale of intrigue and suspense with unexpected twists that seem to accurately mirror life, rather than manipulate art. The story begins in a detention center where a prisoner endures repeated questions from the Stasi regarding his whereabouts on a particular night. The recorded interrogation then becomes teaching material for a classroom of new police recruits.
A teacher of interrogation at Stasi University and an expert in surveillance, Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe) gets the opportunity of a lifetime when assigned to spy on Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), a talented and seemingly patriotic playwright and his actress girlfriend (Martina Gedeck). If Wiesler, a loyal follower of Socialism, can find proof of anti-socialist acts by the playwright, then he is assured a cushy job promotion. Why the Minister of Culture demands this investigation into a respected playwright becomes clear as the story progresses.
Devoid of any emotion and working tirelessly for his beloved German Democratic Republic, Wiesler secretly wires the playwright’s home with cameras, microphones, and telephone wiretaps as he monitors the couple’s activities in a dark warehouse that serves as his makeshift headquarters. Monitored 24-hours a day, the couple’s words, actions, and intimate activities become permanent records for public consumption. Throughout the years as Wiesler performed his job watching the lives of others, he was unaffected by the people he observed or the consequences of his observations. This time, however, something changes his point of view.
Simmering Emotion
Whether it’s passion for humanity, passion for the arts, or passion between lovers, there’s simmering emotion hiding inside every dreary building and each downcast face in this repressive regime. The surveillance aspects delicately entwined throughout the film, and the notion of the observer becoming the observed bring Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 conspiracy thriller The Conversation to mind. The Lives of Others, however, goes even further than merely delving into the characters’ individual stories. The film provides a fictionalized historical snapshot of the final days before the fall of the Berlin wall – a time, philosophy, and place that changed forever. Strong performances (especially by Muhe) and a script that manages complexity and depth without confusion, combine to make this film an unforgettable experience.
The DVD version (in German with English, French, and Spanish subtitles) includes bonus material beyond the mindless chatter of actors, directors, and producers patting each other on the back. The excellent featurette, Making of The Lives of Others, focuses mostly on the story’s historical significance and Donnersmarck’s attention to detail. People associated with the film discuss their personal feelings about the repressive time in East Berlin’s history and how it was recreated on film.
- The Lives of Others
- Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- Run time: 137 minutes
- Rating: R
- DVD Bonus Features: Making of The Lives of Others, Interview with Director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck, director’s commentary, and deleted scenes.
For more information about German films, read The Artistry of Aimee & Jaguar and F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu.
