The Walls Have Ears

Rating: 9/10 (25 March 2007)

You enter your room. Everything is fine and where it should be. Your coat is on the rack, your partner in the shower, and your cigarette still smoldering in the ashtray. Behind the walls and under light switches there are microphones and wires running into someone's headphones. You are not alone.
Neither are the people of East Germany. In Das Leben der Anderen, we get to hear what goes on and who is doing the listening. Translated, The Lives of Others is exactly what it says: it's about the lives of others, someone's life other than yours.
Throughout East Germany in the 70's and 80's, wiretaps and surveillances were placed amongst civilians considered to be a threat to the government. They would interrogate these targets until deemed necessary or when the information they wanted was acquired.
Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler is a member of the Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. He and his colleagues suspect a local writer Georg Dreyman of conspiring against the government. Georg and his girlfriend Christa-Maria Sieland, an actress in Georg's play, live together in harmony. Behind Georg's back, she has been seeing a high ranking government official to keep her name and her husbands "hush-hush" so they may live peacefully. All is heard through Wiesler's headphones.
After a 20 minutes sweep of the apartment, all areas of the home are covered. Wiesler's men work swift and efficiently. It is obvious that this is not something new but very routine. In 20 minutes they have managed to find all the necessary locations for their equipment to be placed, work correctly, and be unseen to the untrained eye. Wiesler finds a perfect place for his operations to be located: right above the cozy apartment.
Everything is in place, the pieces aligned, and mikes turned on. Operation "Lazlo" as it has been dubbed is ready to go. All they need is to hear one mention of treason and they storm the building and take them away. Easier said then done. Wiesler's friends get involved and so does Wiesler. One element wasn't accounted for in the briefing: compassion.
There are several moments in the film where you feel bad for the people involved. Wiesler is spying on people who he comes to admire and wants to help them. In the opening of the movie, we see him teaching to a class explaining the proper technique to interrogating a person. His ruthless tactics and harshness towards his comrades make him seem almost inhuman. As the film progresses we see more of a compassionate and touched person than before.
Georg and Christa have their own problems and to top it all off, their friends who have been black listed and spied on realize the danger that everyone is in. Their are eyes everywhere and no one knows where, except the only place that is considered a safe haven is Georg's place which ironically is the one being monitored.
Technically it is very sound and very well put together. The editing is flawless, going from the attic with Wiesler listening to Georg's apartment and the actions going on inside. What really makes this fantastic story work is the acting. Brilliant performances from Ulrich Mühe (Wiesler), Sebastian Koch (Georg), and Martina Gedeck (Christa) boost the intensity and drama of the story to a new level. Another standout performance comes from Wiesler's friend, coworker, and overseer of the operation Oberstleutnant Anton Grubitz played by Ulrich Tukur.
The power and energy of The Lives of Others stems from the time period that it takes place in. The people are cautious and aware that they might have some unwanted visitors listening in. What is one to do when they can't leave the country but if they stay they are in danger?