(2006) 4.5 Derek Armstrong American viewers may be more familiar with The Lives of Others as the film that upset Pan's Labyrinth for the 2006 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar than they are from having seen it themselves. But those who did see it understood full well why this German sociopolitical drama deserved every honor a body of voters might bestow it. While most of the memorable "Big Brother is watching" films have dealt with future dystopias, rookie writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck finds plenty of this justified paranoia in his own country's recent history. For Westerners, it's a truly chilling view into East Germany as controlled by the Communists and policed by the Stasi during the 1980s. But The Lives of Others is no clinical look into German history -- it's an involving character study full of difficult choices and suspenseful moments, and it plays out to an extremely satisfying conclusion. All the performances are effective, but this is Ulrich Mühe's film -- an amazing statement given his even, quiet performance. A true believer in the twin weapons of intensive surveillance and emotional torture, who teaches students to perfect these very principles, Mühe's Gerd Wiesler pursues his job with a dogmatic fervor that's concentrated into near wordlessness. It's a real measure of his capabilities as an actor, then, that he takes the viewer on such a profound arc toward enlightenment, remarkable in its subtlety. The title may be a bit inexact -- "The Political Philosophies of Others" might have cut closer to how Wiesler is affected by the playwright and his girlfriend. But how to employ his newfound ideas, when similar zealots are monitoring his own protocols for any chinks in his resolve? The Lives of Others is an equal joy to watch aesthetically, shot expertly by Hagen Bogdanski and dressed with an artful drabness by production designer Silke Buhr. And with its thematic parallels to the Bush administration's domestic wire-tapping policies, it crackles with immediacy.

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The Lives of Others (2006)

The Lives of Others

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Nudity
Adult Situations
Not For Children
Profanity
Sexual Situations

genres

Drama

sub-genres

category

Feature

directed by

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

countries

Germany

release date

February 9, 2007 (USA - Limited)

run time

138 min.

produced by

Bayerischer Rundfunk, ARTE, Buena Vista International, Creado Film, Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion

released by

Lions Gate Entertainment, Sony Pictures Classics

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cast

Martina Gedeck: Christa-Maria Sieland

Ulrich Mühe: Captain Gerd Wiesler

Sebastian Koch: Georg Dreyman

Ulrich Tukur: Lieutenant Colonel Anton Grubitz

Thomas Thieme: Minister Bruno Hempf

Hans-Uwe Bauer: Paul Hauser

Herbert Knaup: Gregor Hessenstein

Volkmar Kleinert: Albert Jerska

Matthias Brenner: Karl Wallner

Charly Hubner: Udo

Bastian Trost: Prisoner 227

Marie Gruber: Mrs. Meineke

Volker Zack Michalowski: Handwriting Expert

Werner Daehn: Officer in Uniform

Martin Brambach: Officer Meyer

Hubertus Hartmann: Egon Schwalber

Thomas Arnold: Nowack

Hinnerk Schönemann: Sub-lieutenant Axel Stigler

Paul Fassnacht: Uncle Frank Hauser

Ludwig Blochberger: Benedikt Lehmann

Paul Maximilian Schüller: Boy With Ball

Susanna Kraus: Andrea

Gabi Fleming: Ute

Michael Gerber: Doctor Czimmy

Fabian von Kiltzing: News Presenter

Harald Polzin: Guard

Sheri Hagen: Martha in 1991

Gitta Schweighöfer: Anja in 1984

Elja-Dusa Kedves: Anja 1991

Hildegard Schroedter: Elena in 1984

Inga Birkenfeld: Elena in 1991, BSTU Employee

Philipp Kewenik: Man Arresting Christa

Jens Wassermann: "Rolf" Andi Wenzke-Falkenau

Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky: Band Leader

Manfred Ludwig Sextett: Band

Kai Ivo Baulitz: Bookseller

crew

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck: Director, Screenwriter, Co-producer
Max Wiedemann: Producer
Quirin Berg: Producer
Hagen Bogdanski: Cinematographer
Gabriel Yared: Composer (Music Score)
James Fitzpatrick: Musical Direction/Supervision
Stéphane Moucha: Composer (Music Score)
Andreas Schreitmüller: Editor
Claudia Gladziejewski: Editor
Hubert von Spreti: Editor
Monika Lobkowicz: Editor
Patricia Rommel: Editor
Silke Buhr: Art Director
Dirk Hamm: Co-producer
Klaus Spielhagen: Set Designer
Christine Rothe: Set Decorator
Gabriele Binder: Costume Designer
Arno Wilms: Sound/Sound Designer
Adrian Lorberth: Special Effects
Hans Seck: Special Effects
Claudia Beewen: First Assistant Director
Simone Baer: Casting
Tom Sternitzke: Production Manager
Adam Klemens: Conductor
Annet Schulze: Makeup
Christine Haupt: Production Coordinator
Christoph von Schönburg: Supervising Sound Editor
Hubertus Rath: Re-Recording Mixer
Katharina Hofmann: Second Assistant Director
Kerstina Schennel: Costume/Wardrobe
Kerstina Schumann: Makeup
Matthias Junge: Script Supervisor
Michael "Rossi" Roska: Gaffer
Olaf Kronenthal: Properties Master
Peter Maasz: Location Manager
Sabine Schumann: Makeup
Susanne Paulus-Segerath: Costume/Wardrobe