The Lives of Others
(Das Leben Der Anderen)

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Summary:
In 1984, East Germany's secret police performs survelliance on the citizens, to assure complete governmental loyalty. This centers on Wiesler's investigation of a respected writer, Georg Dreyman.

Review:
Yowza. This is QUITE the story! Set in a time which is recent in Germany's history, it's a breath of fresh air to see something that is a German movie which ISN'T about the Nazis! Ulrich Mühe did a fantastic job as a reserved, lonely, top-notch investigator for The Party, who starts to question the morality of his government after listening in on the life of Georg Dreyman. At times tender, and at other times foreboding, The Lives of Others takes the viewer into several departments of emotional turmoil. It's insightful, honest, risky, funny, and above all, poignant and hearfelt.
This is well deserving of the Foreign Language Film Oscar (wow. A "proper" decision by the Academy!). The hard part about making a review of this movie is that the more I talk about the things I liked, the more I will start to reveal key plot elements. I'm not a fan of divulging too much about movies for those who haven't seen it, so with something like this it's hard to mention all the good parts without ruining the movie itself.
As a character piece, Lives centers on three main characters. Ulrich is of course a remorseless agent who sees the world in black and white, but the more he learns about Georg and Maria, he begins to experience love and freedom of emotional expression in ways he hadn't encountered before, simply because he is dedicated to his job and nothing else. He has no family, and his friend is not much more than an agreeable patron in his political endeavors. It's not until he spends his hours on end learning more about Georg that he himself starts to listen to his own inner desires.
I won't discuss more than the first half of the movie, because the final half is full of clever twists and turns into these peoples' lives, and to say much about it will ruin a lot of the fun of it. One of the more notable moments in the first half is when Ulrich is listening in on an argument between Georg and Maria, and for the first time he shows an emotion other than detached indifference. Upon hearing The Sonata for a Good Man played on the piano during a particularly emotional moment, he makes a connection within himself that he seemed to have never explored before. It's obvious he's lonely, but he never realized it until he observed the love of those he's set to destroy. From then on, Ulrich has to decide what's best for himself versus country.

Meanwhile, Georg and Maria spend their time trying to deal with typical lover's quarrels, but set against the dark cloud of Big Brother. Georg's renown as a writer dedicated to the party is a thorn in both their sides, and having connections to many levels of the government as well as blatant defiers of East Germany, Georg can't find an acceptable balance between right and wrong.
The Lives of Others is a movie that strikes an honest chord in me. It touched my heart and played true to the very end. Not everything goes exactly according to plan. With bitterness comes a result that is bittersweet, but all the way to the very last line of the movie, I was engulfed in where the twists and turns would lead me to. Some things I predicted, and others yet left me laughing or hoping for the best with these people.
If you like dramas with a bit of some utopian spy subplotting put in for good measure, then Das Leben Der Alderen is bound to be right up your alley. It deserves the accolades it has received!

GRADE: A

Reviewed: 4/30/07