Five years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Stasi agent and master of
surveillance Capt. Gerd Wiesler is assigned to spy on celebrated East German
playwright Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend Christa-Marie. As Weisler sits
in Dreyman's attic, transcribing tapped records of his most private moments,
he experiences a growing sympathy for the artist and his lover. Wiesler's
disillusionment, and realization that his mission was inspired by his commander's
lust for Christa-Marie (rather than any seditious action by the playwright),
ironically coincides with Dreyman's reluctant turn toward revolutionary
action—and both men find themselves faced with having to make life-altering
decisions. Winner of the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film,
this gripping political thriller and psychological drama is a reaction to
"ostalgie" films (like 2004's Goodbye Lenin) which paint
a rosy picture of the old East Germany. "Relative newcomer screenwriter
and director Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck makes a remarkably self-confident
and promising debut with the tensely sublime film The Lives of Others...
arguably a "perfect" film for all time." (Les Wright, Culturevultures.net) 35mm
Cinemascope.
more
at www.sonyclassics.com/thelivesofothers
2006, color, 2 hours 17 minutes, Germany