Finally, a great film involving Germany that doesn't even mention World War II

Rating: 9/10 (28 November 2008)

Life in Germany during the Berlin wall tends to get overshadowed cinematically by that war during the 30s and 40s. While countless films recall a plethora of WWII stories, few, and certainly none in recent memory recall the 1980s. "The Lives of Others" takes us to this critical time in history and really strikes at the global relevance of what was going on.
The film is German filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's first simultaneously written and directed project and it recalls the days of the Statsi in East Berlin, who made it their business to know everything about anyone that might be disloyal to the socialist state of East Germany. A high profile couple of a writer and an actress become of interest and Wiesler, the main character, is in charge of listening in on their lives. Wiesler becomes attached to the couple and when their appears to be some anti-German Democratic Republic activity going on, Wiesler has a moral crisis on his conscience.
The film is not as much a moral dive into the voyeuristic tendencies of human beings, but it certainly calls on those elements as an entry point into the minds of the characters being spied on as well as Wiesler. It's more about identifying what "doing the right thing" really is. The concept is certainly not abstract or foreign (no pun intended) to film, but in the fresh historical context of Germany in 80s, it sheds a different light on the subject.
Donnersmarck handles this film with grace. He has some really powerful images and great edits (the opening sequence is flawless in alternating past and present clips) and in general tells a very quiet, basic story without any intense drama in a way that keeps you interested in what's going on or what will/will not happen to the characters. That's really something and I'm sure this film won't be the last he sees of the Academy Awards.