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THE LIVES OF OTHERS Send This Review to a Friend
A powerful new film from Germany, “The Lives of Others,” shown at the 2006 Toronto international Film Festival, zeroes in on life under the Stasi secret police before the Berlin wall came down. Wrtten and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the drama portrays a climate in which citizens were spied on and pressured to conform, with portrayals of key characters presented in a convincingly human way.
The film has been nominated for a best foreign film Oscar for 2006, although it is opening in New York in 2007. It should be a strong contender, but it is up against such other powerful films as “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Water.”
The maze of suspicion, betrayal and vindictiveness is made more interesting as a result of a central character, an interrogator, becoming troubled by what he is doing. The role is played brilliantly by Ulrich Mühe, who becomes fed up with the corruption he sees. Another key character is a targeted writer, played appealingly by Sebastian Koch. His companion, a renowned actress, complexly portrayed by Martina Gedeck, is trapped into submission because of her drug addition and her desire to preserve her career. Others are caught in the widening web.
The film is involving down to its meticulous detail, and effectively concludes with an ironic outcome after the unfolding of tragic circumstances. The sharpness of the direction and of screenplay helps create an aura of tension and suspense that distinguishes the film from other less sophisticated efforts to deliver a powerful political message. There is also the contemporary perspective as a result of Stasi files being made public and the revelations of what occurred.
For an American, “The Lives of Others” has special relevance, as the tactics of the Stasi were similar to what the Bush Administration has insisted on doing with respect to secret surveillance techniques involving the right to wiretap citizens without legal permission. The point is not lost even though the circumstances were vastly different in East Germany. The film also may strike a chord with older Americans who lived through the McCarthy era with its pressures to inform on people or face retribution. Inherent in such situations is the nagging question of how one would respond if subjected to the kind of pressures exerted here. A Sony Pictures Classics release.
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