Das Laben Der Anderen ("The Lives of Others") - **** out of ****

"The Lives of Others" opens in that infamous year, 1984, with title cards informing us of the German Secret Police and their intentions. Their goal is simply put yet knowingly impossible; they want "to know everything." We are informed that they wiretap, phonetap, place some video surveillance, and have some agents listen in on those they deem suspicious. They are in their lives. The surveillance is down to an art- they know when someone is lying, when they're trying to hide information, and they use this knowledge to get what they want.

So far, it seems like the groundwork for a conventional conspiracy thriller, but where the film ultimately succeeds is where most like it go soft. There are no chases, no secret killings, and the one listening in is the main character, not the other way around. It's very easy to make a villain who serves his corrupt organization down to his last breath, but gradually, Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler (the late Ulrich Muehe, playing what many call the role of his life) becomes an unknowing force in their lives. He isn't a double agent, and he's never spoken to those he's monitoring, but despite his extensive training, he feels a strange connection. These people are human, and their beliefs have merit.

This could have been a dreadful film. I try not to think about the choices it didn't make, but what I'm consumed with is writer/director Forian Henckel von Donnersmarck (he's set to direct Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in next year's "The Tourist"). This is a subtle film with brave choices that never feel out of the ordinary- they're that subtle. It doesn't pull a 180 with genres here, it just serves to tell a story.

The story- Gerd Wiesler is invited to attend playwright Georg Dreyman's new show. Gerd was motivated by some kind of suspicion or more personal reasons (Georg is arrogant, one of the types of people Gerd advises his students about), and like clockwork, his flat is monitored. In the attic above, Gerd listens with large headphones but hears nothing concerning attack on East Germany's socialist government (the real kind of socialism, not the scare tactic used by bullies in America). Thus, Gerd continues to listen, awaiting a whisper of something so they can tear his flat to shreds.

Wiesler isn't your typical character in this context. He is not something you'd find in your stock. I watched and re-watched his face throughout certain scenes, and it was like looking into a blank slate. He was constantly thinking, processing information, but even during certain exchanges, not as much as a smirk escaped his face. He would be impossible to read if it weren't for later developments where we realize just how lonely this character is. It's not maudlin, but again through some scenes where all we do as an audience is simply watch, just like he does.

You probably haven't watched this film and may not even know of its existence, but I strongly recommend finding it for several reasons.

-As mentioned before, Ulrich Muehe passed away after this film's release, and his performance is a brilliant one. Unless you start watching German film, you won't see him again.

-This is the movie that beat the equally brilliant "Pan's Labyrinth" for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. "Pan's Labyrinth" is one of the most widely watched foreign films today, but it seemed as though the Academy didn't want this one to go unnoticed. After all, "Pan" took home three Oscars and was nominated for six. All "Das Laben Der Anderen" was nominated for and took was Best Foreign Language Film.

-It seems as though this will be remade by American studios next year. This is a perfect movie with no need for a remake- see the original before Hollywood ruins it.


We must remember that this movie wasn't made for American audiences otherwise it would have been translated into English, but the gift it gives to us is the same it gives to humanity in general. In the times of The Patriot Act, people unsure of whether or not they're being watched, and general paranoia, Forian Henckel von Donnersmarck gives us hope. Hope that if we continue to live our lives in honesty that nothing will stop us. In the words of a great man, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."

Note- Isn't that strange? We have a period piece without wigs, a queen, and an Oscar for Costume Design.

Rated R for some sexuality/nudity.
But it here.