or officially titled: Das Leben der Anderen.
This is the best movie I’ve seen in a very long time. Definitely the best I’ve seen all year. The Lives of Others is a political thriller which takes place in the German Democratic Republic (G.D.R.), better known to most Americans as East Germany. The movie starts in 1984 (how appropriate for all the Orwellian fans) and has some of the best understated performances I’ve ever seen. The central characters include a handsome and affable writer named Georg Dreyman and his live-in lover, Christa-Maria who is an actress.
The movie starts with Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler conducting Big Brother business as usual, but as the plot unfolds, it becomes clear things are about to take an unexpected turn. I don’t want to write too much about the plot because the great thing about the movie is the way it slowly unfolds to reveal an unexpected hero.
Since I’m a cynic when it comes to movies, I researched a little about how the Stasi conducted surveillance and this movie seems to be very authentic in its recreation. In fact, the props master on the movie crew spent two years in a Stasi prison and insisted on complete authenticity in the movie. The props, for listening and recording, were borrowed from museums and collectors ~ all the props were actual Stasi equipment.
I was reluctant to add this to my Netflix queue because I thought it would be too depressing ~ really, the gray, cold slab buildings of the former East Germany are enough to make me sad BUT this movie was so worth the watch. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone looking for an intelligent and different movie which will leave you enlightened and feeling good about humankind.
Let me know what you think of it.
PS The movie is in German but has English subtitles. Don’t let it dissuade you from watching the movie. The movie was so engrossing it didn’t bother me to read the subtitles and it gave me a chance to practice my extremely limited knowledge of the German language.
Patti,
I love that movie as well. Unfortunately, the actor Ulrich Muehe who is playing Gerd Wiesler passed away last summer. He was in a few other good movies, too.
Just getting around to catching up with your blog, working my way down…
Happy Fall,
Alex
LikeLike
Hi Teresa
I’m glad you liked the movie!
I haven’t read “Me Talk Pretty One Day” but it sounds like a good book. Thanks for the suggestion ~ I’ll add it to my reading list.
LikeLike
Patti,
I have watched that movie about a month ago and loved it!
I found it fascinating to watch what took place and wondered if that was how it really was during that time period. I was cheering the unforseen hero on!
On a different note: I noticed in the Real Simple magazine an article regarding different book clubs and there was a book mentioned that I wondered if you have perhaps read. “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris. It is about the struggles to learn a foreign language & converse with the locals. I thought of you as the comments regarding the book were from a military wives book club. It is on my list of books to check out and read after I finish the ones I already have of course. :0)
Aunt Teresa
LikeLike
Kay: Let me know how you like the movie. And good luck with the Army 10 miler!!
LikeLike
Thanks for the recommendation Patti! I think my German is good enough, subtitles will be for the husband 🙂 It’s on its way to us 🙂
LikeLike
I guess I should’ve stated the movie is rated R for some nudity.
LikeLike
Did you let Logan watch it to see how much of her German she remembers? Probably not the kind of movie you’d have her watch, better to find something more age appropriate in German. 🙂
LikeLike