A look into fascism

Rating: 9/10 (4 September 2007)

It is rare to see a movie about how a police state immerses itself into the lives of its citizens, recording every detail of their existence. Many such films show a hero who takes on the establishment, or an villainous officer who moves up in the ranks by destroying people. But "The Lives of Others" tells a very human story from the viewpoint of a Staci officer.
Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) is an East German playwright who is surprisingly loyal to the state. Yet his loyalty arouses the suspicion of two Stasi officers, and they accuse him of conspiracy and subversion. So the Stasi assigns Captain Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) to spy on Dreyman and his actress girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). The Stasi bugged the apartments and tapped the phone lines of the couple and their friends, and tried to turn one of their friends against them. Wiesler preceded to listen to every conversation they had over the course of five months. Complicating matters is Cultural Minister Bruno Hempf (Thomas Thieme), who wants to have Georg arrested so he can have Christa to himself.
But as he listens to the intricate details of the couple's life together, Weisler grows to envy, respect, even like Georg and Christa. His character evolves from a cold robotic bureaucrat to emotional human. Mühe's performance as the Stasi captain is nothing short of brilliant. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, in his directorial debut, overlooks no detail as he puts his audience in 1984 GDR.
Far from nostalgic, "The Lives of Others" examines the power of the Stasi and its impact on the people of the GDR.