The Lives Of Others (2006)

Synopsis: In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.

Who chose it: Brent

Why I chose it: I’d wanted to see this movie many years ago, which I spotted because of its high place on the IMDB Top 250 rated movies list. I couldn’t ever bring myself to commit to it – or I would simply forget about it from time to time. This calendar felt like a good time to remember it.

“The Lives of Others” stars Ulrich Mühe as surveillance officer Hauptmann Wiesler in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The film intertwines three plot themes that could have filled runtimes if taken on their own. Let us begin with the political: it is 1984 in East Berlin and the GDR is wiretapping everyone’s homes and monitoring their movements to spot Western sympathies. Activists disappear or are blacklisted and ordinary citizens dare not speak an ill word against the government.

Next, there is a writer – Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) – who is supposedly the only writer with GDR sympathies who is actually read in western countries. His lover, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), is the lead actress in his stage plays.

We return to our man Wiesler, who is charged with leading “Operation Lazlo” to spy on the couple. As he spies on them, he first observes their humanity. Their arguments, their attempts to impress each other with small acts of affection, and most importantly their discrete conversations regarding their true feelings about the GDR. By the time their true political stances come to the fore, Wiesler is so wrapped up in their lives that he must choose between his state and the couple.

“The Lives of Others” is a fascinating character drama with many interesting threads, but the ones I found interesting are those about obsession and surveillance. The film begins with Wiesler demonstrating his virtuosity in interrogation and his utter lack of empathy for enemies of the state. In fact, Dreyman’s surveillance is his idea. However, after learning of some political treachery he begins to question his relationship to his suspects.

There is something deeply intimate about seeing and being seen that makes it difficult for one to remain impartial. Wiesler’s crack of doubt opens the door wide for him to intermingle his own experiences with theirs. After some minor interventions, Wiesler’s character arc becomes intertwined with theirs in an extremely immediate way.

The most interesting – and commendable, I think – thing about the film is that it resists the temptation to enter into macabre obsession territory. Wiesler is an officer of the state and in the act of doing his job he undoes all of his conditioning. He is not socio- or psychopathic; he is just a man who begins to care more for his subjects’ lives than his own.

The film wisely lives little dialogue for Wiesler. His character development takes the shape of silence, seemingly imperceptible mannerisms, and short sentences or utterances. Does Wiesler become invested because he realizes he is a pawn in a corrupt game? Or is he obsessed because he lives a lonely life? Does he lose sympathy for socialism along the way?

The film never tells us, which is to its credit and makes it stronger. “The Lives of Others” is an engrossing movie. Unlike “Cachè”, it doesn’t make you feel like you’re being watched; instead, it makes it very aware that you are the one doing the watching.

There are some movies that stick in your memory long after you’ve watched them- that just keeping coming back to your mind. “The Lives of Others” is one of them. It’s been a almost a week since we watched this award-winning foreign film, but I still find myself thinking about it.

“The Lives Of Others” takes place in East Berlin in 1984. The secret police are monitoring anyone who shows signs of being sympathetic to the West. One member of the secret police, Gerd Wiesler is put in charge of monitoring playwright Georg Dreyman. Dreyman is celebrated in East Germany- but comes under suspicion about where his loyalty truly lies. Captain Wiesler is known for being systematic, ruthless, and highly skilled- showing no mercy to Western-sympathizers. We also later learn that he lives a life of solitude- his job is his life. And it is a lonely one.

What I loved about this film was how it draws you in. When I first started watching it, I was having trouble following what was going on- more so because it felt slow-paced than anything. But as Wiesler begins to listen in on Georg and Christa-Maria and becomes more consumed with their life- the more we as an audience are drawn in as well.

Ulrich Mühe definitely steals the show with his performance as the cold and heartless turned compassionate Weisler. His character doesn’t have much dialogue- and he doesn’t need it. We learn everything we need to know from his reactions and expressions- particularly in his eyes. After doing some research, I learned that Mühe was actually a border guard at the Berlin Wall before he became an actor. It is also speculated that his own wife was an informant while he was under surveillance himself by the Stasi. These experiences surely contributed to Mühe’s magnificent and convincing performance.

Playwright Georg is told by his rival Minister Hempf: That’s what we all love about your plays. Your love for mankind…your belief that people can change…No matter how often you say it in your plays, people do not change!” But this is exactly what “The Lives of Others” is about. The ability for even the most cold-hearted person (like Weisler) to be transformed into a compassionate and even self-sacrificing individual.

There’s more I could say about this film- but I think I would do better to encourage our readers to just watch it. “The Lives of Others” is a powerful film filled with emotion and says more without words than with them. It is simultaneously heartbreaking, touching, and full of hope for humankind.

Up next: Another Orson Welles turn for us as we watch “The Third Man”  

Peace out, Kids.

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