"The Lives of Others" is a must see

[John Moschella]

"The Lives of Others" is a German made film that takes place in East Berlin in 1984. Much of it concerns the surveillance by the East German State Security (Stasi) on a playwright (Dreyman) and his actress girlfriend. Dreyman appears to be a good socialist but a high ranking GDR official wants Dreyman out of the way so he can have the girl for himself. Enter Wiesler, a Stasi captain, master interrogator, and true believer in socialism. He heads the investigation. On the surface, this subject material is fascinating and gives us a glimpse of what life was like in the GDR circa 1984. But like every great film, there is so much more. The movie is about character transformation and, while I don't want to give it away, its done in an intellectually honest manner that leaves the viewer much to think about and satisfied at the same time. I've seen it twice during the last week.

This movie won the Academy Award for best foreign language film in 2007, and it is not a stretch to say it was the best film of 2007 (period). The acting is universally outstanding, particularly Ulrich Mühe who plays Wiesler.

And its available on blu-ray to boot. This is a film people should see.

[jojopuppyfish]

I brought this up last year
http://stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-105100.html

[Downsampled]

I've seen it twice lately. I loved it the first time, and was somewhat surprised to find it just as good -- maybe moreso -- the second time.

[Director]

Yup, this was my favorite film last year. :thumbsup:

[shane]

I loved this movie from start to finish. When the film first began I didn't think I was going to enjoy the end (based on what I thought was going to happen) but I was truly surprised and thought the ending was terrific.

Shane

[alanb]

:righton:
Best film i have seen in years.

[RickN]

Excellent flick!

[Plan9]

Amazing film, I agree. Please watch it in German if you can.

[leGrandOrange]

Didn't lead (Stasi) guy just die a while ago? Sad, he was brilliant!

I've seen a couple of interviews with the writer/directer--he is quite sharp. Does anyone know what he is planning for his next project?

[leGrandOrange]

Amazing film, I agree. Please watch it in German if you can.

It's really only in Italy that they regularly dub foreign language films--or is that true in France, as well?

Another note for the SH crowd--the music was pretty integral to the whole film...in the interviews the director told of how much attention he paid to the score and how he wanted the composer to achieve a certain effect...um, it's been a while and I can't quite remember the whole deal--maybe someone else can pitch in...

[Downsampled]

Didn't lead (Stasi) guy just die a while ago? Sad, he was brilliant!

I didn't know that, but apparently it's true (http://imdb.com/name/nm0618057/).

[Plan9]

It's really only in Italy that they regularly dub foreign language films--or is that true in France, as well?


No, only blockbusters.

[somnar]

It's really only in Italy that they regularly dub foreign language films--or is that true in France, as well?



As of a couple of years ago, this was widely the case in Germany, too.

[John Moschella]

It's really only in Italy that they regularly dub foreign language films--or is that true in France, as well?

Another note for the SH crowd--the music was pretty integral to the whole film...in the interviews the director told of how much attention he paid to the score and how he wanted the composer to achieve a certain effect...um, it's been a while and I can't quite remember the whole deal--maybe someone else can pitch in...

I watched the interview feature with the director. He stated that the decision on the mood for the 'Sonata for a Good Man' theme was somewhat contentious between himself and the composer. Ultimately the composers ideas won out. Also, Sebastian Koch (who played Dreyman and stars in Black Book) actually learned how to play the piece with no prior piano skills. Apparently, he plays in quite well but nothing else.

The most interesting thing in that feature to me was that the Stasi building Dreyman visits near the end is the real thing and the file room scene was shot in the actual room where Stasi files can be accessed to this day.

[John Moschella]

Didn't lead (Stasi) guy just die a while ago? Sad, he was brilliant!



Yes, Ulrich Mühe did pass away, he died of stomach cancer at age 54. The real interesting thing about this man is that he was an actor in East Germany during the 80s.

[Dillydipper]

An awesome story! The theme of redemption in the 'lives of others' is particularly well-placed, considering how The State insinuated itself into the lives of others in the first place.

One of my top 3 for the year.

[leGrandOrange]

I'm curious, how this movie was received in the part of Germany that was the former GDR--I'm sure we have members here who lived through that era and might want to comment...

Bob

[leGrandOrange]

No, only blockbusters.

Not wanting to pick a fight with you, but aren't nearly all major release (or mainstream") films shown in France from America dubbed? Maybe it's a matter of semantics, but not all major release films are blockbusters...

[leGrandOrange]

I watched the interview feature with the director. He stated that the decision on the mood for the 'Sonata for a Good Man' theme was somewhat contentious between himself and the composer. Ultimately the composers ideas won out.

What was the nature of the dispute? I never heard anything about that...I was really wondering if someone can remember what the director was trying to do with the music. In other words, how did the music contribute to the theme. (Of course, this is all a matter of interpretation. But I do remember the director making some rather explicit comments with regard to his intentions.) Please forgive me, but my memory is so bad and it's been a least a year since I heard the interview. But I do remember the director was going for a particular mood or effect...

I tried to do a bit of internet research but gave up--pardon my laziness! I did find that that the director hounded the composer (a well-known guy who did Mingala's "The Talented Mr. Ripley") for months to get him to come in on a low budget film.

[RolandG]

I'm curious, how this movie was received in the part of Germany that was the former GDR--I'm sure we have members here who lived through that era and might want to comment...

Bob

IIRC, it was a mixed reception at best, partly not even due to the movie itself, but the person of the director. I'm from West Germany, but my former fiancée [:cry:] was from East Germany, so I had some connections to people there.

Many people there thought the director was just a spoilt brat from a rich West German family with a nobility background, who never lived a day in the GDR, yet tried to shove their history down the East Germans' throats (Don't blame me, I'm just quoting). It didn't make him more sympathetic that he gave an interview after receiving the Academy Award, stating that he will continue to work in Germany and not Hollywood out of a sense of duty, "because [his] family has been serving Germany since the 14th century". That obviously came across as some sort of "We are holier than thou" attitude.

As for the movie itself, a lot of East Germans were of the opinion that it didn't give a true and fair portrayal of every day life for most citizens in the GDR, but focused only on one of the few things West Germans can think (and obsess) about when it comes to the GDR - the Stasi. An issue East Germans are really fed up with hearing about. Others (those who were observed by the Stasi and did suffer under the regime) were understandably of a different opinion.


And BTW, almost all foreign movies are dubbed in Germany. Only major cities are fortunate enough to have cinemas where at least the blockbusters are shown in the original language (mostly English).

[Claude]

As for the movie itself, a lot of East Germans were of the opinion that it didn't give a true and fair portrayal of every day life for most citizens in the GDR, but focused only on one of the few things West Germans can think (and obsess) about when it comes to the GDR - the Stasi. An issue East Germans are really fed up with hearing about. Others (those who were observed by the Stasi and did suffer under the regime) were understandably of a different opinion.

I watch german TV frequently. The GDR past comes up regularly in documentaries, but rarely in cinema or TV films. There are still many more movie productions being made on the Nazi past than on the Stasi and other GDR phenomenons.

But I agree that it would be much better if people who actually lived in the GDR made such movies.

"The lives of others" is certainly one of the best german movies from the past 10 years, and deserves it's international success. I hope they will refrain from doing the US remake that was talked about shortly after the movie won the Oscar.

[John Moschella]

As for the movie itself, a lot of East Germans were of the opinion that it didn't give a true and fair portrayal of every day life for most citizens in the GDR, but focused only on one of the few things West Germans can think (and obsess) about when it comes to the GDR - the Stasi. An issue East Germans are really fed up with hearing about. Others (those who were observed by the Stasi and did suffer under the regime) were understandably of a different opinion.



I don't think the film implies that "everyday people" were under surveillance, nor are any of the characters "everyday people", therefore the film in not really about everyday life of the common citizen in the GDR. The film did imply that essentially all artists, performers, writers etc. were being watched. The important question with regard to the film is, was it a fair portrayal of that segment?, ie. anyone who could potentially influence the public. While I found the film fascinating I would hope that it was accurate in that respect.

[RexKramer]

"The lives of others" is certainly one of the best german movies from the past 10 years, and deserves it's international success. I hope they will refrain from doing the US remake that was talked about shortly after the movie won the Oscar.

C'mon. George Clooney plays a spy working for Joe McCarthy (Paul Giamatti) as he spies on the Commie poet (Sean Penn) and his hottie girlfriend (Charlotte Gainesbourg in her Hollywood breakthrough)? It's got Oscar written all over it! :laugh:

Seriously, the film kept me captivated. Twisty but not needlessly confusing, solid cast, and dirested with a restraint on flash, it just might have deserved taking Best Foreign Pix from Pan's Labrynth. Questionable, but a worthy candidate.

Mark

[leGrandOrange]

Thank you Roland and Claude, for your detailed replies--I'm not surprised that the movie elicited a parochial response in the former GDR. Thinking about the movie with this extra layer of meaning--that the director is not East German--is quite thought-provoking. Being an American, I (of course!) was totally unaware of this distinction when I went to see the film.

I wonder, though, whether the movie itself is a retort to such parochialism...or rather a meditation on knowledge and knowing, on forms ('the language') of knowledge such as art, spying, making love, music, and so on. I wonder if one could invoke the argument that being 'other' privileges the viewer, allowing him or her insight into that which is 'other' by recognizing that otherness. (This is a standard anthropological viewpoint--that the viewer rather than the native is privy to certain understandings...)

And so maybe the director has a certain perspective that is informed by his otherness--I'm pretty sure he was fully aware of this while making the movie. BTW, didn't the Stasi officer "know" the actress, after all, 'better' than her lover did? In other words, by virtue of his otherness (being the spy), he is granted special insight into the actress's thoughts.

Also, here's a quick response to John's comment: "The film did imply that essentially all artists, performers, writers etc. were being watched"

I agree, here, and would add that art itself can be looked at as a form of spying or trickery (think picaresque tales--Quixote, Lazarillo de Tormes), as well as Thomas Mann's "The Confessions of Felix Krull.)" Wasn't the actress herself engaged in a form of trickery (hiding the tie)? And weren't the artists involved in trickery, too, by hiding the article under the floorboards? So I guess one interpretation might suggest that life itself depends on trickery and evasion--the artists were complicit in the spying--indeed--they were fully aware that they were being spied on...

Cheers!
Bob

[JohnG]

Just watched the movie on Blu-ray.

Stunning! A must see, no doubt. I love the ending too. And the soundtrack is wonderful.

Its always incredible how a society can be so afraid of its citizen's. We truly have been spoiled living in our society. I couldn't imagine what life must be like in a place where your life is never your own.