A masterpiece in monochrome

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2007)

A superb and gripping film which begins in a scarily detached, unemotional way and finished with tears running down my face at the final frame. This film is a journey from alienation to connection and much of its power comes from exposing us to the vicious banality of the Stasi's operations.
The environment in which the film is set is minimal, dirty and monochromatic, but the performances are anything but, believably conveying the suspicion and insidiousness of the ruling regime and the constraints of the human soul. We are shown the limits of freedom and what happens to those who want to express it but we are presented with a moving and powerful portrayal of awakening human spirit despite the powers that would crush them into conformity.
Others have expressed the details more elegantly than I, but I have to say that when I thought it ended superbly, it continued to build its message until the wonderful, touching and incredibly moving final seconds. I sobbed into the credits, but it's not for that mawkish heart-string pulling stuff, this is a perfect ending with a deep emotional resonance that perfectly rounds off a wonderful film.