Movie #860 "The Lives of Others" (German) takes place from 1984 until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a time period I knew very little about.  I really enjoyed this film ----- it reminded me of "The Conversation" with all the sound equipment this man HGW uses in his surveillance of a playwright he suspects of treason (he is in East Berlin, at this time ).  What I really enjoyed about the film is that HGW is such an esoteric person --- he says very little --- he appears very stoic.  You learn that the work is everything.  But then you start to watch the veneer chip away to start to reveal what really makes this man tick, as he listens in on the life of  this playwright and notes:  how much passion this man has for freedom, for search for intelligence, for another person (an actress), for the fine arts.......so much so that he changes his behavior in little increments at first.  I can't say any more because it would give too much of this gem of a film away, but I do warn the watcher a couple of things --- this is a long, slow film ---full of a lot of listening to others' lives (thus the title) , while you try to figure out what makes the lead character tick; it also has a lot of names, but once you get the major ones, it makes it easier to follow and appreciate -- and watch it to the very end, because the ending is very poignant and enjoyable, and it brings things full circle. (this won the best foreign language film oscar in 2007, deservedly so)











The Lives of Others2006R138 minutes       I would give this 4.5 stars out of 5

In 1984, secret police agent Wiesler is assigned to eavesdrop on a successful but possibly disloyal playwright in East Germany. As the lonely Wiesler learns more about the man and his lover, a prominent actress, he becomes fascinated by their lives.

Cast:

Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Volkmar Kleinert, Matthias Brenner, Charly Hübner

Genre:

Foreign, Espionage Thrillers, Political Thrillers, Thrillers