The Lives of Others (MA)
Directed by Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck
Five years before Glasnost and the fall of the Berlin Wall the East German government held onto its power with a ruthless system of control and surveillance. This was a time when 100,000 highly trained Stasi spied on people who were suspected of thoughts that differed from the ruling regime. Every aspect of their lives was recorded. Ulrich Muhe, who plays Gerd Weisler in the film, found out after the Wall came down that he was spied on in the 1980s. As Captain Gerd Weisler, he not only oversees surveillance operations, but also teaches skills required for merciless interrogation.
The main target of his current scrutiny is the successful playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) who seems to have a perfect life with his beautiful girlfriend and lead actress Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). The order to investigate the author is both politically and personally motivated by those above him, but as Weisler conducts his cold and calculating observations, he gets drawn into an intrigue that will test his own values. As he observes, he becomes more aware of the shortfalls in his own life and the moral quandaries that emerge. As he gets immersed in the lives of others, the drama turns into a taut and intense thriller.
Writer/director Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck spent four years researching the activities of the Stasi and conducted hours of interviews with former Stasi employees and people who had spent years in detention centres. Rather than creating a piece of nostalgia, he exposes a corrupt and manipulative misuse of power that preys on human weaknesses and destroys people. His masterpiece is not only an excellent historical expose, but it also highlights the fear generated in the name of national security that continues around the world today.
