The Lives of Others
By Ross Forbes, Blockbuster.co.uk

It may have been a comment that you made in public, within earshot of the wrong person; but before you realise that you have spoken out of turn, you are in a chair before a Stasi officer and your entire future hangs in the balance. East Germany in the 1970’s and 80’s was not just in a state of fear, but a state that survived on fear.

Before being shown the chair, before you even know that they have taken an interest in you; they are listening. With 24-hour surveillance, and every room in your house bugged, they will take your life apart; every moment of your life will be logged in a file and eventually; used against you.

Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler, a Captain in the Stasi is tasked with watching a young couple; Georg Dreyman, a playwright and Christa-Maria Sieland, an actress. Wiesler bugs the couple’s house and then sits back in his apartment to observe their lives in the hope that they will expose a threat to the socialist order. But the longer that Wiesler listens, and the more that he’s drawn into their lives; he finds himself increasingly comparing his own dull existence to that of his subjects.

Ulrich Mühe’s performance as Wiesler is captivating; playing the character as a dedicated socialist workaholic, he employs the same sinister non blinking stare that Anthony Hopkins uses while portraying Hannibal Lecter. This gives Wiesler the intensity of a soulless man. There is nothing in his life other than his work, and the more that he embeds himself in the lives of the writer and actress, the more he longs to emulate it, that is, until he crosses the line and starts to omit activities from his reports.

The film is a stark reminder of how our world used to be, in our not so distant past. Director/writer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck shows us a very realistic film, one that doesn’t employ the standard Clichéd high-tension moments - preferring to let the story speak for itself. Filmed almost at a distance to give the impression that we’re listening along with Wiesler; this has the effect of allowing the viewer to grow emotionally attached over the course of the movie without even realising it.

What other people say

“* * * * * An outstanding thriller”
Total Film

“* * * * *”
Empire

“A Masterpiece”
Film Review

“The best film of the year”
The Guardian

“An absolute masterpiece”The Times

“Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant”The Observer

“Perfectly crafted…a classic”The Daily Mail

“Magnificent…unmissable…exceptional. Don’t expect to see a better film this year”The Telegraph

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