Another victim of self-importance

Rating: 8/10 (12 August 2007)

I haven't seen any German films since "Der Untergang" (2004) about Hitler's last days which was fairly good, atmospheric and believable. "Das Leben der Anderen" is something else, a mixture of farce and the very cramped German approach to "serious" subjects. Actors make up for lack of performance by over-emphasizing their dialogue.
English viewers may not properly "appreciate" the fine-turned original that made me feel like I was hearing a book reading - no living Teuton naturally talks or has ever talked like that, not even our venerated grandparents. The actors pronounce every chosen line as carefully as on stage, which adds to the painful artificiality of the whole. I abandoned this over-rated attempt after 30 minutes - there are better ways to waste time and learn about the STASI. Two stars are for performance, the third for the content - you can take it as a radio play. The fourth is for the subject.