The Lives of Others
Director Henckel Von Donnersmarck's Haunting Tale of East Germany
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) is a German language film exploring the corrosive and tragic consequences of this type of government activity as it plays out in the lives of a dedicated Stasi officer and his latest targets.
Gerd Wiesler (the late Ulrich Muhe) is a true believer in the Stasi motto Shield and Sword of the Party. Despite his bland appearance, Wiesler is ruthlessly efficient in his job, a fact Chief Grubitz (Ulrich Tukur) relies on. As the film opens, Wiesler and Grubitz attend the opening of playwright Georg Dreyman's (Sebastian Koch) newest production. It stars Christa-Maria Siesland (Martina Gedeck), Dreyman's favorite actress and live-in companion. Chief Grubitz wants Wiesler to head up a surveillance operation on Dreyman, believing him to have anti-government views.
In no time, Wiesler and his staff have bugged Dreyman's flat. However, as the surveillance begins, it becomes apparent that the playwright's political views are of less interest than his personal life. Wiesler comes to understand that a powerful Central Committee member named Hempf is infatuated with Christa and wants Dreyman out of the way.
SURVEILLANCE
As he eavesdrops on the couple, Wiesler finds himself sympathizing with their plight. Dreyman is successful and acclaimed and he supports the East German government. However, he opposes the treatment of dissidents, especially his friend Jerska. Once the country's leading stage director, Jerska has been forbidden to work in the theater. At Dreyman's 40th birthday party, Jerska gives him a musical score titled Sonata for a Good Man (written especially for the film by Gabriel Yared)as a gift. Days later, he commits suicide.
The Lives of Others deftly moves towards a shattering climax. After Jerska's death, Dreyman agrees to write an article for the West German newsmagazine Der Spiegel on East Germany's high rate of suicide. He is provided with a contraband typewriter and keeps it hidden under the floorboards of his flat. The resulting cover story angers Stasi officials, who suspect Wiesler allowed the manuscript to be smuggled into West Berlin, which he did.
To get the necessary evidence on Dreyman, Christa is arrested by the Stasi. She is interrogated by Wiesler and told her acting career will be over unless she cooperates. She tells him where the typewriter is hidden.
While the Stasi raid Dreyman's home, Christa is overcome with guilt and remorse and she throws herself in front of a truck. She is killed, never knowing Wiesler has already removed the typewriter.
Wiesler's actions are heroic, but he pays a high price for them. He's demoted to an airless basement where he opens people's mail. He seems resigned to this situation until 1989, when the Berlin Wall comes down. Wiesler later begins a new life, ironically, as a mail man.
SONATA FOR A GOOD MAN
Dreyman, meanwhile, remains haunted by Christs'a death. Then he unexpectedly runs into Hempf. While the one time party official waxes about the days of Communist East Germany, Dreyman aks why he was never put under sureillance. Hempf incredulously replies that he was, in fact, under 24 hour surveillance. Stunned, Dreyman returns to his flat and uncovers the myraid of listening devices implanted throughout his home. However, he still doesn't understand how he escaped arrest.
The reunified German government made public the millions of files the Stasi collected. While reading his surveillance files, Dreyman notices a page smudged with red ink. The typewriter he used for his Der Spiegel article had a red ribbon. Suddenly, he realizes that the Stasi agent spying on him, identified as HGWxx/7, stole the typewriter and saved his life. Later, Dreyman writes a novel titled Sonata for a Good Man and dedicates it to HGWxx/7. In the film's final scene, Wiesler is seen buying a copy of the book. When the clerk asks if he wants the purchase wrapped, Wiesler replies, "No, it's for me"-which it is.
The Lives of Others was written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The performances are excellent. Ulrich Muhe is especially impressive as Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler. He sees himself as a dedicated public servant and is shocked that the sureillance of Dreyman is about removing a romantic rival, not protecting the state. Although he may not admit it, Wiesler is lonely and isolated, with no friends. The lone female he has contact with is a prostitute. It's only as his sureillance of Dreyman and Christa deepens does he start, however slowly, to become alive again.
Gregor Dreyman is Wiesler's counter part. He also will pay a high price when he finally understands the true nature of the system he works for. However, the naivete of Dreyman is perhaps The Lives of Others only flaw. It is hard to believe such a man, who reads western periodicals and has dissident friends, would not understand the actual state of affairs in Eastern Germany.
The Lives of Others won the 2007 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. It seamlessly combines the elements of political thriller, doomed love story and spiritual reawakening amidst the backdrop of a repressive regime nearing its final days. It is a quietly powerful and deeply moving film.
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