A Pillar of Movie-Making

Rating: 10/10 (7 November 2009)

Truly a masterpiece of film-making in recent years, The Lives of Others has 1st-rate writing, dialog, and characters under a wonderful historically contextualized support framework. As a viewer, this is like unwrapping 2 surprise gifts in one package that complement one another. One being I enjoyed the re-creation of the later-aged communist bloc and two being the characters of government and society who inhabited them - most especially, the lead Stasi played by Ulrich Muhe , whose own character's growth and metamorphosis through the length of the film is emblematic of the plight of the state. Brilliantly done. We go from despising him to understanding and finally empathizing with him. Direction is first class and focused and the cast is determined and full of energy. This is truly an example of how good a movie can strive and it's awards and acclaim are highly merited.