One of the best foreign films in recent memory

Rating: 9/10 (7 September 2016)

The Lives of Others is a German film that tells the story of two artists living in East Germany during the height of the Cold War. The Ministry for State Security, or Stasi, knows no limits to its surveillance power and has taken a special interest in the artistic community. Despite their unwavering faith to each other, we play witness as these two lives become further and further intertwined with the State Security. The Lives of Others will leave your heart pounding and mind racing as you become engrossed in a world of deceit and passion. The plot is methodically revealed to you in such a way that you're aware of where you're headed, but shocked when you get there. It draws you in and leaves you feeling as though you have truly peered into – the lives of others.
Georg (Sebastian Koch) is a playwright who walks the line between obedience to the Party and his moral compass. He frequently surrounds himself with intellectuals with more fervor than he, but manages to stay on the Party's good side. Change is a constant theme throughout the film and Georg's life is no exception. As he slowly sees his world crumbling before him he becomes more and more impassioned. A dear friend hanging himself is the catalyst for a shift in Georg's writing style. After such a traumatizing event his close friends no longer seem so radical.
Christa-Maria (Martina Gedeck) is Georg's girlfriend and actress in several of his plays. Their romance grows as the film progresses and leaves them both feeling as though nothing else matters. However, her flourishing acting career has garnered her some attention from the Stasi. She too is forced to choose between allegiance to the State and her moral well-being. Throughout the film her choices have the most impact on others. Although unreliable at times, we feel inexplicably drawn to her. Her presence on-screen is intoxicating, which is perhaps why we see events unfold as they do. Despite all evidence to the contrary we choose to trust where she takes us.
Weisler (Ulrich Mühe) is a veteran of the Stasi and prisoner interrogation. A slave to his own stoicism, he leads a simple, calculated lifestyle that revolves around his allegiance to the State. He is well-versed in taking people to their breaking point and his latest assignment is to surveil Georg and Christa-Maria. As he immerses himself in their lives he begins to question everything around him and everything he's ever known. He travels deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole until he's completely lost his sense of up and down, and right from wrong. If Christa-Maria is the catalyst for change then Weisler's transformation creates the largest explosion.
The Lives of Others leads you through a tangled web of interactions and leaves you feeling as though you yourself have been ensnared. Ulrich Mühe delivers a captivating performance, perhaps the best of his illustrious career. Overall the film was one of the best foreign films in recent memory, and was recognized as such. It won Best Foreign Film in 2006 after narrowly edging out another of the great foreign films in recent memory – Pans Labyrinth. Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck brilliantly commands the pace of the film through the lens of the camera, the claustrophobia inducing sets, and the haunting score. This film is definitely a must-see.