A MUST SEE movie; an instant classic

Rating: 10/10 (27 March 2007)

At the time of my writing this, there were slightly over 8,100 people voting and 87% of those gave it either a 10, 9, or 8.
After seeing "Pan's Labyrinth," I thought it was robbed when the BFF Oscar was awarded to "Lives of Others."
But I saw LoO last night and my judgment is that, while they're both great movies (although of different types), "Lives of Others" was justly honored.
IMO, many of the characters in LoO were more nuanced, developed and changed over time; -- there were believable maturational developments of several characters in it; -- it accurately captured psychological conflicts and reactions; -- it captured the historical quality of that era of the GDR more accurately than PL did for an era 6 years after the end of the Spanish Civil War; and -- it has many haunting parallels with today's issues (interrogations, rendition, domestic surveillance, the fact that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and the slighting of ideals for public good for private gain all the while maintaining the drumbeat of patriotism).
The plot's twists and turns kept me in suspense but were always reasonable. (And I'm a retired therapist and displeased by unlikely reactions.)
ALL the actors were excellent with the central character, Wieser, the brightest star among many.
As a summary review in "The New Yorker" said, you leave this movie feeling surprisingly uplifted.
After seeing this movie, I suggest you visit the IMDb Message Board threads where you'll find many Q&As, discussions about this movie.