Strong Characters, Great Performances

Rating: 9/10 (4 March 2007)

The Stasi existed to protect the Communist state of East Germany from its perceived enemies both external and internal. That state is long gone, as are the Stasi, yet their existence still chills and fascinates.
Step forward Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck with this drama of Georg Dreymann (Sebastian Koch), an East German playwright put under the surveillance of a superkeen Stasi officer, partly at the behest of a government minister who covets Dreymann's actress girlfriend (Martina Gedeck) and who would be grateful if the playwright were got out of the way to give him a clear run at the woman. Unfortunately for the libidinous minister, however, things do not quite go according to his plan.
This film's strengths are many - plausible story, subtle and appropriate music, suitably drab sets and camera-work  but it is the performances that really captivate. Sebastian Koch and Martina Gedeck are excellent, but Ulrich Mühe is simply flawless. We watch as his character, Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler, makes the transition from unquestioning zealot to sympathetic collaborator who realizes at last that the system he has believed in all his life crushes those who do not fit in with it. It crushes him too, eventually, but in a noble cause that leads to a worthy end and an unexpectedly touching conclusion.
I am lucky enough to have sufficient grasp of German to watch this in the original, but, even if you can't, this one will grip you from start to finish. It is a deserving winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year in 2007 and is strongly recommended.
Rating: 9/10