"People don't change"

Rating: 10/10 (13 March 2007)

The Lives of Others- 2006, Directed by Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck "People don't change"- Bruno Hempf, Stasi Cultural Minister A film whose beauty cuts through the dismal and stifling political culture of pre-glastnos East Germany. In a nation of 16 million citizens it's estimated that the East German Government actively kept files on 6 million of them, and had up to 400,000 active cooperators at it's height. "The Lives of Others" deservedly won the Oscar for best foreign film as well as seven Lola Awards (the German equivalent of the Oscars). It is an astonishing debut from Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Nazi Germany has had a multitude of films bring it's crimes to light, yet no other internationally released film has dealt with the sins of communist East Germany and the Stasi (State Security) whom ruled the GDR with an iron grip.
Gerd Wiesler (Ulhric Muhe) is a Stasi Captain assigned the task of leading a surveillance team to monitor the popular and relatively a-political writer Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch). The two men are of stark contrast. Wiesler lives alone, in a cold sterile apartment, he is an agent so painstaking and calculated that he can carry out an order down to the click of a stopwatch. Dreyman is passionate, warm, deep surrounded by those who love him. He and his girlfriend are unique in that they command the respect of the general public, intellectuals and government officials alike.
Georg soon becomes more and more dissatisfied not because of intellectual conviction but because the government brings pressure upon his loved ones. His long time friend and producer Albert Jerska (Volkmar Kleinert) is marginalized into obscurity and suicide, his talented girlfriend is being coerced into an affair with the repulsive and boorish Stasi cultural minister Bruno Hemph (Thomas Thieme). On top of that the works of he and his friends will never be spared the wrath of state censorship, even though he is considered one of the more "loyal" artists in the community.
While Wiesler is chosen to monitor the "arrogant" writer and his girlfriend, he soon finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into their day to day life. Wiesler's Icy exterior begins to thaw as he ease-drops day and night typing voluminous notes. While it is a political thriller Von Donnersmarck, contracts and eases the tension perfectly offering pure moments of human connection and drama especially as the film progresses. He uses the original score at the most opportune times, and to maximum emotional effect. It contains many genuinely touching scenes, rich, deeply layered acting and an ending that's deeply poignant. In it's closing moments, The Lives of Others will make you proud to be a human being.
Paulie the Hat