| “The Lives of Others swept Germany's version of the Academy Awards and has dazzled audiences at a host of film festivals. It's no wonder: The German film (with English subtitles) is a thoroughly compelling political thriller, at once intellectually challenging and profoundly emotional. The film is so assured and meticulously crafted that it's nearly impossible to believe this is director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's first movie, Germany's entry for foreign-language film Oscar.
The Lives of Others captivates from the start, opening in a classroom where Capt. Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), a member of East Germany's powerful secret police, is giving students tips on how to conduct tortuous interrogations to induce a confession. Set in East Berlin in 1984, five years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the film captures a time when the secret police still wield enormous power and are particularly suspicious of artists, whom they consider likely subversives.
An artist who has managed to stay under the intrusive government's radar is the well-regarded playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), who is in love with an accomplished actress, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). Wiesler is assigned to spy on the pair and initially undertakes his assignment with a chilly efficiency. ...”
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