Good

Rating: 7/10 (1 September 2010)

The few critics of the film, naturally, frame their criticisms not artistically, but based upon the director's supposed failure to truly depict how hard life really was in East Germany, or that a Wiesler could not have existed in reality, for the Stasi was so paranoid about loyalty that they always worked in pairs, etc. Of course, these criticism miss the point as much as the positive ones do. That Wiesler may not have been able to exist in reality has nothing to do with the diegetic reality of the film, wherein he functions quite well, save for the rather thin reason for his 'treason.' As stated, it would have been more plausible if he protected Dreyman so that Grubitz and Hempf lost face, for abusing the 'good will' of the Communist state. Few critics, though, have commented on the drab visuals (including those not intended), the trite dialogue between the artists, and the presence of numerous melodramatic plot twists used merely to move the sometimes slow moving 137 minute film along (it could have lost 30 minutes to great positive effect). Despite this, it is a solid film, but one likely not deserving of an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Picture, which it won.
I mentioned its affinity to The Conversation, but this film is far more prosaic, and, as terrific an acting performance as Mühe provides, his character is simply not nearly as complex as Gene Hackman's Harry Caul, nor is his self-doubt as realistically (and, more importantly, effectively) depicted. He should have been protecting Dreyman to screw Grubitz, rather than for Dreyman's sake (or even because he, too, lusted for Sieland), because that would have been believable, and added layers of depth to Wiesler's conversion (so, too, could shading have been thus added to Wiesler's taking of the typewriter- is he protecting Dreyman, or trying to hide his own prior protection of Dreyman? But, that also would have required a depth of life experience and writerly ability that the callow Donnersmarck, and his rather straightforward plot, lacked. However, all in all, a good effort from a first time filmmaker, and one that deserved applause, if not all the plaudits it received. For all its flaws, the screenplay and film, at least, attempt something of depth, even if, overall, they come up short. Wiesler ultimately loses faith not in the 'system,' but in the people who run the system; this is why he is so disconsolate, even after the fall of the Berlin Wall, for his system is now dead.
The Lives Of Others does fall prey to the Day After Effect, for its flaws stick more than its good qualities, but it's worth a viewing for those good qualities, faithful or –less. And the number of films, American or not, these days, that can claim that, would take a far better interrogator than Wiesler to uncover.