Review of The Lives of Others (2006) by Gary S — 13 Nov 2015
Set in the dying years of the communist regime in East Germany, the plot centres around a loyal Stasi officer who begins to question the morality of his situation when he is asked to document the lives of a successful playwright and his actor girlfriend, looking for signs of insurrection.
The film works on many levels, there are great performances from the late Ulrich MÃ 1/4he as the stasi officer Wiesler and Sebastian Koch (now TVs King Uther in the dodgy American reworking of Camelot) as the apparently State approved writer.
It also has the possibly pretentious understory of art being able to transcend the worst in humanity. Why not? It plays like a underplayed Greek tragedy with all the elements of love, betrayal, loss and redemption.
It is also probably no coincidence that the film is set in 1984, as MÃ 1/4he's portrayal of Wiesler has a very definite 'Winston Smith' feel to it. One of my marks of a good film is how it stays with you after the end.
This one will stick for a good while. Thoroughly recommended.
This review of The Lives of Others (2006) was written by Gary S on 13 Nov 2015.
The Lives of Others has generally received very positive reviews.
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