A man who has devoted his life to ferreting out "dangerous" characters is
thrown into a quandary when he investigates a man who poses no threat in this
drama, the first feature from German filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
It's 1984, and Capt. Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muehe) is an agent of the
Stasi, the East German Secret Police. Weisler carefully and
dispassionately investigates people who might be deemed some sort of threat to
the state. Shortly after Weisler's former classmate, Lt. Col. Grubitz (Ulrich
Takur), invites him to a theatrical piece by celebrated East German playwright
Georg Dreyman, Minister Bruno Hempf informs Weisler that he suspects (Sebastian
Koch) of political dissidence, and wonders if this renowned patriot is all that
he seems to be. As it turns out, Hempf has something of an ulterior motive for
trying to pin something on Dreyman: a deep-seated infatuation with Christa-Maria
Sieland (Martina Gedeck), Dreyman's girlfriend. Nevertheless, Grubitz, who is
anxious to further his career, appoints Weisler to spy on the gentleman with his
help. Weisler plants listening devices in Dreyman's apartment and begins
shadowing the writer. As Weisler monitors Dreyman's daily life, however (from a
secret surveillance station in the gentleman's attic), he discovers the writer
is one of the few East Germans who genuinely believes in his leaders. This
changes over time, however, as Dreyman discovers that Christa-Maria is being
blackmailed into a sexual relationship with Hempf, and (on an unrelated note),
one of Dreyman's friends, stage director Albert Jerska (Volkmar Kleinert) is
driven to suicide after being blackballed by the government. Dreyman's loyalty
thus shifts away from the East German government, and he anonymously posts an
anti-establishment piece in a local paper, which rouses the fury of government
officials. Meanwhile, Weisler becomes deeply emotionally drawn into the lives of
Dreyman and Sieland, and becomes something of an anti-establishment figure
himself, embracing freedom of thought and expression. A major box-office success
in Germany, Das Leben der Anderen (aka The Lives of Others) received its North
American premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie
Guide
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