Review of The Lives of Others (2006) by Sarah H — 06 Jul 2010

I was utterly surprised by the beauty and depth of this film.

It begins in 1984 in East Germany; the bleak grey/greenish hues that are constant throughout, reflect the mood of a nation brow-beaten into conformity from fearing that the Ministry for State Security, or Stasi, might be round every street corner. (A BBC article says there could have been one informant for every seven citizens.).

We are soon introduced to Ulrich Müheâ??s character, Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler, a member of the Stasi. Wiesler is used to conducting interrogations and is called up to co-ordinate round-the-clock surveillance of a much-loved playwright, Georg Dreyman, played by Sebastian Koch. His life gets meticulously recorded by the men in grey; yet somehow traits like kindness and compassion manage to creep back into a world which has tried to eradicate all colour and warmth.

Itâ??s difficult to write about the plot at all without giving too much away â?? the delight for me lay in my having no idea what was about to unfold â?? so Iâ??d advise you to just rent it without pausing to scour IMDB for reviews.

This will stay with me for a long time, and is now one of my all-time favourite films.