Review : The Lives of Others

Once in your life time , you get a chance to stumbled upon a movie that has the ability to change the way you perceive the complexities of human emotions. Ideologies are not made to be changed in a day or two, but what if your beliefs about the entire system that you are part of get shattered by an innocent and pure soul? That's what from my perspective "The Lives of Others" is all about. Its about the transmogrification of ruthless, tough East German secret service Captain into a humane individual.

The lives of others is an extraordinary cinema, at one level it is a fast past docudrama, at another it is a political thriller with just apt screenplay. But above all its a movie about triumph of honesty and innocence over lust, ambition and blind faith in what can be unjust. Its a simple fictional story that fold beautifully through the intense emotional dilemma for right and wrong.



Set in the backdrop of communist ruled East Germany, in early 80's, the film begins with Gerd Wiesler, a Stasi ( East German Secret Service) teaching his students using a tape of the interrogation to show his class how, by making prisoners awake for a period of days, can break them and get them to confess. Wiesler, a loner, is a firm believer of his ideology, and thinks that what he is doing is right. He believes so deeply in the system, that he no longer questions it at all.

Wiesler is assigned to monitor Georg Dreyman by his old friend who desperately wants to impress the minister Humpf for professional growth. Humpf, wants to have physical relationship with Christa-Maria, a famous and gifted actress and Georg's girlfriend. He must eliminate the writer from his way to fulfill is lewd desires.

Georg is one of the few "intellectuals" who vocally supports the government in spite of his close friendships with artists who are considered dangerously outspoken. Georg wired house is monitored by Wiesler for any anti government activity. uring the course of time Wiesler get to know the true intentions of minister to implicate George and how pure, innocent and good George is. Caught between the lust of power and the honesty and innocence of Georg, What Wiesler does is the heart of the movie.

I don't want to disclose any further as I want people to go through the discomforting unpredictability of the sequence of events that make it as cinema at its best.

Its the silence and facial expressions of actor Friedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe, who plays the captain Wiesler that must be applauded together with the moral dilemma of the Christa-Maria played by Martina Gedeck.

But the real hero of the film is debutant writer-director Florian von Donnersmarck, who crafted such a thought proving and awe inspiring master piece.

The discomfort and tragedy of the "Lives of others" is going to haunt you for few hours after watching it. But, as I said this 2007 Oscar Winning movie is worth a try, go for it.