A smart, tight, well-acted thriller

Rating: 10/10 (28 January 2007)

This movie, though rather long, is well directed such that every frame is important. The musical score of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra enhances the movie rather than dominating it.
The acting by all cast members is excellent - no one overacts. It all seems terribly real.
The movie's theme causes us to focus on how fragile our freedoms really are. The historical background is East Germany in the early to mid-1980's. The Stassi reigns supreme with the enlisted help of a multitude of informants such that no one can be trusted. One can easily imagine how North Americans have cause to worry if we continually give up our liberties for the sake of combating terrorism.
It is also a movie that speaks to a European culture that is now forced to assimilate the old USSR bloc. We get new sympathy for the hell that the East Germans and for that matter the citizens of other totalitarian regimes had to endure.
Yet, like in Schindler's List, the good in a man's heart ultimately triumphs. The juxtaposition of "good man"/ "bad man" plays heavily throughout the film.
Without any chase scene or over-the-top special effects, the film pulls off what is arguably the best thriller of the year. It is well-deserving of its Academy Award nomination for best foreign language film.