Lives of Others.
Cannot. recommend. this. movie. enough. I went into it reluctantly, expecting a droll political drama, and much to my surprise it turned out to be such a simple story at heart with far reaching reprecussions.
It poses a very basic question, and while having a warm and tender core, never compromises on the reality of the situation for the safety of a feel good moment.
The story is basically of a saga of two good men, a Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muehe) who was in charge of spying on and tracking people suspected of treason during the totalitarian period of East Germany history....and a theatre director Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), who is under suspicion.
One stark, cold man with piercing eyes, another a statuesque, handsome man, with a mixture of gentleness and masculinity. And a woman, torn by her own weaknesses. A sleazy politician who tries to use the socialistic system to forward his own slimy agenda. An ambitious political officer, with a sweetwise attitude, and no moral spine.
Though initially wary of Georg for what he percieves as his arrogance, Wiesler realises that the investigation was initiated by sleazo politician Hempf (Thomas Thieme) due to his obsession with Christa-Maria, the director's girlfriend and actress and he wants to eliminate the competition.
Wiesler’s boss, Colonel Grubitz, sees no harm in using the situation for personal professional gain.
These characters pose a very basic question: What does a truly good man do, when being good involves going directly against the ideas you believed in for so long? When doing the right thing would imply committing treason against your country? Its such an irony that the only dutiful communists in the movie are the ones trying to find a way around the system.
The movie has the pace of a thriller, the heart of a love story and the sweep of a saga. And did I mention how unexpectedly entertaining, funny and heartwarming it is!
Brilliant performances by everyone, particularly the three main characters, Mühe's stark unflinching and cold demeanour makes the systematic evolution of his character over the course of the movie so much more dramatic. .like watching a block of ice melt, you truly appreciate the depth of his performance only after you leave the movie hall. Gedeck as Christa Maria brings so much compassion to her conflicted character.
