The Lives of Others

  You sit in your home, alone or possibly with friends/family, you are safe, you are free to talk about what you want and who you want without the fear of repercussion from authorities. You can laugh, you can tell any kind of joke you want, you can criticize your leaders, you can write what you want with out anyone telling you no, or re-writing your work. Most of us live in a free country, and it can be easy to forget that some people do not have this luxury.






The Lives of Others is one of those Oscar winning movies that few people have seen or even heard of. If you are one of the many unacquainted with the film, you are missing out on one of the best movies out in 2006. Yes, in a year with such movies as The Departed, The Queen, Babel, Blood Diamond, and The last king of Scotland, a small foreign movie about a captain in the German secret police who is tasked with listening in on other people's conversations is in ranks right up there.


Set in East Germany, 5 years before the destruction of the Berlin Wall, the story follows Gerd Wiesler as he is tasked with eavesdropping on the discussions of an accomplished playwright George Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and his lead actress lover Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), under the orders of a greedy Minister who has eyes for Christina. With no life of his own, no family, friends, or wife, Wiesler starts to form an emotional bond with his targets. Slowly, his emotions override his training and duty, and he begins to cover up the activities of the couple.

I loved this movie, this is one of those movies where someone can tell you 100 times to go see, but until you actually go out of your way and see it, their words are just words. Ulrich Muhe was outstanding as the emotionless robot who eventually remembers what it means to be human and care for people. His facial expressions show a depth of emotion that few Hollywood actors can match. If you have never seen or heard of this movie before, do yourself a favor and seek it out. Don't let the subtitles scare you off. This is an excellent movie that everyone should see.