The Lives Of Others

Subtle and gripping are the two words that come to mind when I would try to describe The Lives Of Others. It's a frightening look into the communist government of East Germany, the lengths they went to in order to keep tabs on the population, characters driven by suspicion, and what happens when people in positions of power abuse that position.

It's a remarkably vast story that brings you into a place and a time with the focus on one person, who seems as though they're caught into the middle of a storm. We're taken through the expansive narrative by the secret police agent Gerd Weisler (Ulrich Muhe) who kicks off events by musing to his superior that a playwright may not be as clean as he seems, and he's charged to surveil the writer and his lover.

From there, Weisler becomes increasingly engrossed and sympathetic towards this couple, while his superiors are clamoring for him to find something on them. It's nothing short of a breathtaking performance on the part of Muhe, and while the rest of the cast are fantastic, such as Sebastian Koch in the part playwright Georg Dreyman, or Martina Gedeck as his lover and leading actress, this film really belongs to Ulrich Muhe. His cold, quiet exterior hides a simmering range of emotion and inner struggle, it's as subtle and as powerful a performance as you could imagine.

The film is incredibly well written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, it captures an atmosphere onscreen that is potent and ever present, it's hard to think of another film where I felt sorry and fearful for just about every minor character. There's one scene in an elevator where a child questions Weisler, and my heart sank with dread at what could happen. The Lives Of Others is such a powerful experience that it made me feel extremely uncomfortable throughout, and that's quite rare.

The cinematography is extremely good, while not flashy, it adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the film in subtle ways. When we follow Weisler to his home, we observe him through a fisheye lens that makes it feel as though we're the ones surveiling him now, getting the insight into his private life that he and his government get from others.

It's a remarkably well written piece. Weisler doesn't really talk that much, so much of his motivation is left to our imaginations and interpretations. If this were an American film, the character would probably speak his thoughts aloud, spelling things out for the audiences, but von Donnersmarck seems to have a much greater respect for us, and it comes off a far better film because of it.

Honestly, just see this film. It's powerful, tragic, and often times frightening, I can't think of anything that has been this spellbinding, that has left me feeling emotionally flogged, and has been so utterly brilliant. See it.