The Lives Of Others Details

Downbeat and tedious

This had such a downbeat and tedious beginning I just gave up after 15 minutes and tried to do something more useful with my life.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Gripping plot, excellent acting in a chilling context

I was in my teens in 1984, and (tho I didn't realise it then) already took our basic freedoms of speech, association and career opportunity for granted. This film's context is communist East Germany at the same point, where no such freedoms existed - it's chilling how recently this was, in a country that I visit frequently and seems 100% Western today.

The fundamental plot revolves around an actress, her partner who she lives with, and the high-up apparatchik who she sees under duress on the side. The apparatchik arranges for the anti-hero, one of the secret police's top interrogaters, to spy on the couple which he does with a convincingly Germanic efficiency. The lives he observes are at first almost comically ordinary, albeit in a charming bohemian way. As the plot progresses, and the injustices of the system force the principals towards their destinies, the plot twists and turns to a rewarding climax. Each minute earns its place, which unfortuately means you can barely blink or you'll miss a crucial subtitle.

The thing that stands in my mind tho is not the plot, but the acting. Ulrich Muhe, a sort of German Ian Holm, excels as the anti-hero uber-interrogator of few (very effective) words, who portrays more with his soulful glares than lesser actors can manage with hundreds of words of script. Sebastian Koch (of The Black Book, where he plays a very different role) is also excellent as the ordinary artist leading what must be, for the former East Germany, a charmed life. All the supporting roles are pitch-perfect too - even the prostitute.

Comparisons will be drawn with Downfall, another German film that is fascinating for a British audience. But where Downfall's fascination lies primarily with the novelty of seeing 'the real Hitler', in Lives of Others the fascination of life under communism is exceeded by the compelling characterisation and tremendous plot. Not one to miss, whether your bag is drama, thrillers or romantic tragedies.