The Lives of Others
Academy Award × 1
Rent/Purchase
In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.
What critics thought
Virtually every major critic treated this as a serious achievement — a slow-burn East German surveillance drama that derives its tension from moral psychology rather than plot mechanics, with Ulrich Mühe's performance singled out repeatedly as the film's quiet center. The main point of contention isn't quality but historical fidelity: Anna Funder and Christoph Hein both argued the Stasi depicted here is a fiction, with Hein going so far as to compare the setting to Tolkien's Middle-earth rather than the real GDR of the 1980s.
“a powerful but quiet film, constructed of hidden thoughts and secret desires”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“The suspense comes not only from the structure and pacing of the scenes, but also, more deeply, from the sense that even in an oppressive society, individuals are burdened with free will. You never know, from one moment to the next, what course any of the characters will choose.”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
“a triumph of muted grandeur”
Josh Rosenblatt·Austin Chronicle
Genres
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorFlorian Henckel von Donnersmarck
StarringMartina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme
ComposerGabriel Yared, Stéphane Moucha
The Lives of Others
Academy Award × 1
In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.
What critics thought
Virtually every major critic treated this as a serious achievement — a slow-burn East German surveillance drama that derives its tension from moral psychology rather than plot mechanics, with Ulrich Mühe's performance singled out repeatedly as the film's quiet center. The main point of contention isn't quality but historical fidelity: Anna Funder and Christoph Hein both argued the Stasi depicted here is a fiction, with Hein going so far as to compare the setting to Tolkien's Middle-earth rather than the real GDR of the 1980s.
“a powerful but quiet film, constructed of hidden thoughts and secret desires”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“The suspense comes not only from the structure and pacing of the scenes, but also, more deeply, from the sense that even in an oppressive society, individuals are burdened with free will. You never know, from one moment to the next, what course any of the characters will choose.”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
“a triumph of muted grandeur”
Josh Rosenblatt·Austin Chronicle
Genres
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorFlorian Henckel von Donnersmarck
StarringMartina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme
ComposerGabriel Yared, Stéphane Moucha
Rent/Purchase