Unparalleled genius. Thought-provoking, complex, and emotional

Rating: 10/10 (9 December 2018)

We open with a prisoner, who has been spying on his neighbour. (The neighbour's fate is unknown). The prisoner is interrogated. A class of students "listen in" to a recording of the interrogation. The professor leading the class spies upon his students. The professor himself is observed by his superior. And we--the audience--are watching the whole spectacle. Then the film transitions to a theater.
It is so complicated yet so accessible and understandable.
"Das Leben der Anderen" was criticized for its "soft" portrayal of the German Democratic Republic. Wiesler would have never been alone. There were no known empathetic Stasi men of his type. But there is a deep power of suggestion that makes the film not a documentary but a compelling drama.
Georg Dreyman's article about Der Zentralverwaltung für Statistik in der Hans-Beimler Straße isn't just about the grip of depression in the DDR, it is also about suicide as a concept. There is far greater meaning than just a story of life in a dictatorship.
In its truest, deepest form is the brief presence of Frau Meinecke, a widow and neighbour to Georg and Christa-Maria. As witness to a lives being "decomposed" by a brutal regime, her eyes and her silence represent the viewer's pain and powerlessness.
The performances by Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, and Ulrich Tukur are world class, worthy of every award. Each is played with subtlety, depth, and beauty. Although I speak German, I know that the performances are so solid that non-speakers are equally moved and engaged by each actor.
For those unconvinced that the story is too soft, listen only to Wiesler's lines like, "Bitte noch einmal" ("Once again, please"), "Wollen Sie das?" ("Do you want that?) or Bastian Trost's crushing performance as Häftling 227. There is no need to see more violence; that which is suggested is more than adequate to cringe at the devastating history of the MfS.
The sets and colors are pinpoint accurate. I can almost smell the characteristic pollution of East Berlin in every scene.
"Das Leben der Anderen" deserves to be watched, re-watched, studied, and taught. It is a masterpiece of writing, direction, acting, and necessary reminder of the too easily forgotten history of the DDR.