A thought provoking and brilliant film

Rating: 10/10 (22 September 2007)

In the last chapters of the Cold War the infamous Stasi begin to investigate a writer who could be considered the ideal Socialist. They don't believe his intentions. The East German government assigns Captin Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler to tap the wires of playwright Georg Dreyman and his lover Christa Marie Sieland's apartment. Wiesler is a pitiful character who has no life to begin with. He is the ideal Stasi, during a lecture his students at the beginning of the film we see cut aways to a brutal interrogation scene. This case is different for Wiesler though, for some reason he finds himself intrigued by Dreyman. He begins to wonder if he truly believes in Socialism. and when Dreyman writes a critical article dealing with East Germany's suicide epidemic, Wiesler leaves the traitorous news out of the report. He becomes entangled between the government and his morals.
The Lives of Others is a powerful film. It isn't preachy in it's political commentary, it's straight forward and these characters are people who have real convictions and emotions. I didn't find it to be political at all in the long run, sure it deals with communism but it is at heart a morality tale. Ulrich Muhe delivers an absolutely outstanding performance as Wiesler. Wiesler is a complex character and from someone who doesn't understand a word of German I thought he gave one of the best performances of last year. His face and voice deliver great complexity and emotion. There is a terrific scene when Wiesler confronts a young boy in the elevator to his apartment. The boy brags about how his dad says the Stasi are bad men who just arrest people. The responding look on Muhe's face delivered more insight into this character's soul than any dialog ever could.It really made me sad to learn that Ulrich died recently. If his performances were mostly on the level of The Lives of Others,I'd suspect he was one of Germany's master actors. Director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck gives the film a dark feel. The camera work is nothing special but the mood established by the film is enough to warrant him special praise as a great future up and coming director. The Lives of Others is one of the most important films of the new millennium. It was the rightful choice to win the Oscar over the much more popular Pan's Labyrinth. For those who tend to stay away from foreign films, you are making a big mistake if you choose to miss out on this masterpiece.