Stasi wants "to know everything

Rating: 10/10 (15 January 2008)

The Lives of Others is at once a political thriller and a human drama. It is a fictitious story based on historical facts. The film's characters, compiled from many different real-life figures, including several of its actors, themselves the victims of Stasi surveillance and persecutions, contributed immensely toward the authenticity of the film.
von Donnersmarck's quest for authenticity led him to shoot in as many original locations in East Berlin as possible, such as in the former Stasi headquarters, including Stasi's original file-card archives. All of the furniture and objects needed for the film - bugs, surveillance equipment, a room full of machines that steam open letters, and so on, are all original items, gathered from private collectors and museums. Captain Wiesler lives in one of these drab, lifeless, high-rise apartment buildings prevalent in the Eastern European countries under communist regimes, while playwright Georg Dreyman occupies a gentrified apartment in an old building, typical of the old Berlin. The cinematography contributes greatly to the film's atmosphere. The colors are pale and unsaturated. Brown, gray, beige, orange, and especially green dominate the palette, with blues and reds noticeably absent.
The success of this film owes much to the high caliber of its actors. The beautiful Martina Gedeck, recipient of many awards, gives a subtle, vulnerable performance. Sebastian Koch's insouciant, bordering on arrogant, attitude of an adulated playwright is convincing. Multitalented Ulrich Tukur renders the role of a devious, opportunistic department head perfectly, and Thomas Thieme is absolutely repulsive as the lecherous Culture Minister. But it is Ulrich Mühe 's superb performance, the depth and subtlety of emotions that underscore his acting as he evolves from an ideological bureaucrat into a compassionate human being, which is most fascinating.
Another asset of the production is haunting film score, composed by the multiple award-winner, Gabriel Yared. This sorrowful and complex music was recorded by the outstanding Prague Symphony Orchestra.
von Donnersmarck offers viewers a cathartic second ending to his film, an equivalent of a musical coda or a literary epilogue, which is a welcome relief to the viewers. There is indeed an under-current of sadness that builds up slowly, imperceptibly, as the film progresses. If The Lives of Others is a political thriller, it is also a human drama, and it is a tribute to the director's artistry and depth that draws his audience into the relentless torments of his characters' wasted talents and lives.
The film's first theme is of political nature: life in the "Workers' Paradise" of East Germany in the 1980s -- love it or...don't leave it. We are showed how politics can infect -- and potentially destroy -- every aspect of a citizen's life: work, creativity, leisure, intimacy, and even sex. Steering smoothly between the personal and the political arenas, the film shows how destructively the two fields of activities were combined for millions of innocent East Germans. More generally, we are confronted with a basic reality, which is that no matter which country one considers, there are always people in the higher echelons of government who, with the complicity of eager followers, seek to highjack the freedom of the citizens under the pretext of fighting a common internal, but more often external threat. These politicos are motivated by ideologies, private ambitions, greed, stupidity, or ignorance.
The second theme follows from the first: knowledge is power. In its quest to have absolute power over the East German citizens, the government must strive to obtain absolute knowledge of every aspect of their lives -- their thoughts, behavior, intentions, and activities -- at all times. Through this knowledge, the government can act to counter any subversive activities which could challenge and endanger the regime. This is a question of life or death for the government, and it must employ all means possible, spare no efforts, and be vigilant 24/7, in its quest for information.
The film's third theme is a philosophical one: it explicitly shows how an ideology must shut off one's feelings in order to pursue one's goals. The true essence of ideology is the total supremacy of its principle over feelings, and the biggest life challenge is finding the right balance between the two -- between one's ideological principle and one's true feelings -- when confronted with a moral choice.
I would agree with Minister Hempf's statement that "People don't change." No matter what happens in a person's life, that person remains true to his or her nature. However, when along the way, one attains the right balance, albeit temporarily, between ideology and feelings, one is said to have "changed." In this context Minister Hempf's statement is wrong, and Captain Wiesler does change. As always, there is never only one cause for a change. Wiesler's dramatic change actually begins soon into the story, when he goes to the theater, an unusual diversion for the person so far depicted. This is followed by his growing awareness of Grubitz's opportunistic character, resulting in his old friend occupying a better position in the Stasi than is own. Weisler contends with the arbitrary use of absolute power when he finds out that his mission has more to do with Minister Hempf's sexual urges than with the defense of Socialism. Finally, as he takes over the direction of Operation Lazlo, Wiesler gets exposed to people whom he would usually only have met during an interrogation situation. And as he becomes more and more familiar with every intimate aspect of their lives, Wiesler starts to question his own life. Through these people, he gets exposed to the arts. Although at first he is rather unwilling, even to the point of finally betraying Dreyman, all these things put together make him change, until he finally commits a genuine heroic act.
My only question about this outstanding film, certainly, on all accounts, the best film I have seen in the last few years, is what will von Donnersmarck do for an encore?