A critical and commercial success upon its release in 2006, The Lives of Others won the 2007 Oscar for Best Foreign Language feature and made its director, Florian Henkel von Donnersmark one of the most sought after talents in Hollywood. Unfortunately his next film was the dull and muddled, The Tourist. Only time will tell if his career will recover from this setback but in The Lives of Others, he has already created a modern classic that will surely be remembered as such in years to come.
Set in East Berlin in 1984, The Lives of Others tells the story of what it was like to live in a totalitarian state where your every move and utterance was monitored by the secret police, the Stasi. In a remarkable performance filled with pathos, Ulrich Muhe plays Captain Gerd Wiesler of the Stasi who is assigned to investigate renowned playwright Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend Christa Marie-Sieland, a glamorous young couple on the East German cultural scene. As he becomes more and more involved in their daily lives, living vicariously through them, he begins to question his superiors motives for investigating Dreyman and the role of the state in the life of an individual. This is not merely an exercise in highlighting the horrors of the communist regime, though as a Westerner you would undoubtedly be shocked by the power of the state, this is a truly suspenseful film as the plots winds its way to a conclusion that leaves the viewer satisfied. There can be no loose ends.
There are some very fine performances in this film but I cannot praise Ulrich Muhe enough. He imbues the character of Captain Wiesler with a quiet dignity that enables the audience to empathise with him. There is a discernible arc to the character throughout the film and as Wiesler begins to see the light, we do too. That's acting of the highest order and it is such a great shame that Ulrich Muhe passed away so soon after this performance, succumbing to stomach cancer on 22nd July 2007.
One of the real strong points of the film is the little subtle events that have far reaching consequences. The neighbour who looks through her keyhole, the slip of a tongue in passing conversation, it keeps the viewer on their toes and doesn't insult their intelligence by telegraphing every part of the plot. One of the finest films of the noughties, if not of all time, The Lives of Others is a chilling portrayal of a past that is as relevant as ever today, I urge you to see this film.
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