The Lives Of Others (2006 film) - review

Every so often I watch a movie which brushes away some of the cobwebs in my jaded and cynical mind, and brings about some hope.  Such a film is The Lives Of Others ("Das Leben der Anderen"), a German movie originally released in 2006, and written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

The story is set in East Germany, largely in the mid-1980s.  A writer and his partner are placed under surveillance by the Stasi (the secret police), partly at the behest, it seems, of the Minister of Culture. However, the officer overseeing the surveillance operation soon begins to feel sympathy and compassion for the couple, and tries wherever possible to protect them from the attentions of his own colleagues. 

It is this scenario which plays a large part in making the picture such a gripping and absorbing one. The viewer can never really tell when the methods of agent Wiesler (superbly played by Ulrich Muhe, by the way) will be questioned  by his superiors. The effect is aided by some of the opening scenes, in which Wiesler is shown as an unquestioning and severe servant of the system. Perhaps he sees in the humanity of those he is scrutinizing qualities which bring out his own latent humanity, and the facade recedes. The irony is that he had a hand in the surveillance being instigated in the first place, on what appeared to be a "gut feeling".

Every time the story shows signs of becoming predictable, it maintains its composure and moves off in some new and stimulating direction. This movie is very elegantly shot, and the cinematography emits what might be termed autumnal hues, which are very pleasing to the eye, and which may or may not have been intended as symbolic. 

The oppressive atmosphere within the Stasi is vividly portrayed, but as something insidious and almost unpredictable, rather than one of unremitting blunt force. We are also reminded that even in the DDR the normal human frailties and demons, such as jealousy, lust and insecurity, were to the fore.

Martina Gedeck has great screen presence in the role of Christa-Maria, effectively evoking the mixture of confusion, realism and resignation which the character feels. In fact, the acting is consistently good, coming from some familiar faces in German cinema.

The ending of the film is beautifully conceived and done, and it pretty much leaves conclusions to the interpretation of the viewer.  My own feeling was that despite the minor sense of "redemption", everybody lost in some way. 

The Lives Of Others is a quietly enthralling and moving film, which is one of the best I have seen in recent years.