Martina Gedeck

Ulrich Mühe

Sebastian Koch

Ulrich Tukur

Thomas Thieme

Hans-Uwe Bauer

Volkmar Kleinert

Matthias Brenner

Charly Hübner

Herbert Knaup

Bastian Trost

Marie Gruber

Volker Michalowski

Werner Daehn

Hinnerk Schönemann

Thomas Arnold

Ludwig Blochberger

Martin Brambach

Hubertus Hartmann

Paul Faßnacht

Paul Maximilian Schüller

Susanna Kraus

Michael Gerber

Fabian von Klitzing

Harald Polzin

Sheri Hagen

Gitta Schweighöfer

Hildegard Schroedter

Inga Birkenfeld

Jens Wassermann

Gabi Fleming

Kai Ivo Baulitz

Anabelle D. Munro

Klaus Münster

Patricia Rommel

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Gabriel Yared

Stéphane Moucha

Simone Bär

Max Wiedemann

Quirin Berg

Hagen Bogdanski

Monika Lobkowicz

Andreas Schreitmüller

Claudia Gladziejewski

Jörn Poetzl

Frank Noack

Christiane Rothe

Silke Buhr

Gabriele Binder

Annett Schulze

Tom Sternitzke

Oliver Schnug

Olivia Retzer

Eva Claudius

Sally Steele

Detlef Halaski

Sabine Schumann

Michael Koschorreck

Jürgen Ruge

Alister Mazzotti

Christine Haupt

João Da Costa Pinto

Martin Zillger

Hubertus Rath

Hans Seck

Hagen Keller

Arno Wilms

Philipp Sellier

Christoph von Schönburg

Michael Röska

Thomas Duchnicki

Sylvain Coutandin

Eva Simonet

Dirk Hamm

Drama

Thriller

Das Leben der Anderen

Creado Film

Wiedemann & Berg Film

ARTE

Beta Film

France

Germany

Deutsch

The Lives of Others

berlin, germany

government

corruption

espionage

germany

berlin wall

german democratic republic

cold war

blackmail

stasi

soviet union

freedom of speech

house search

artists' life

interrogation

surveillance

heartbreak

east germany

communism

corrupt agent

political corruption

political thriller

surveillance state

persecuted writer

systemic corruption

noble sacrifice

corrupt government

Good guys facing tragic circumstances in an interesting period of history. 

Because you view the main characters lives from the perspective of the morally confused Stasi Officer investigating them, you receive more information than the characters have about their hopeless situation. This makes it all the more tragic to see the suffering they endure. 

Absolutely love this film. The only film so far to make my dad and I cry.

CinemaSerf

This isn't so much a thriller as a glaring example of the corrupting power of the state, and of those charged with crafting and implementing it's policies. "Dreyman" (Sebastian Koch) is an East German playwright who is popular with the communist elite because his works manage to extol the virtues of their people's republic. The minister "Hempf" (Thomas Thieme) goes through all the supportive motions with him, but meantime asks the Stasi to keep an eye on him. The very ambitious "Grubitz" (Ulrich Tukur) selects his meticulous colleague "Wiesler" (Ulrich Mühe) to manage the surveillance and off we go. What dawns on them very quickly is that they are being used by the politician to discredit the writer for an altogether different reason. He has designs on actress "Christa-Maria" (Martina Gedeck) who just happens to be the girlfriend of their new quarry. She has very reluctantly agreed to his advances in the past, but on the basis that resistance would be pretty futile as he is not a man to be crossed. If they needed proof of that, they just have to look at the ostracised "Jerska" (Volkmar Kleinart) who is now reduced to living in a glorified flat share and who cannot get any work. The hitherto unshakeable loyalty of "Wiesler" starts to wobble a bit now. He dislikes being used and as his surveillance continues, he realises that maybe his targets are not the right ones! Gradually, the internecine and political elements close in on all of them and as pressure grows to deliver results, things take a tragic turn for just about everyone. It's quite a potently paced and cleverly written indictment of totalitarian regimes, this. The people live in fear and so conform; the state controls all aspects of the infrastructure of daily life and those who have climbed the greasy red pole soon display all the Orwellian credentials of his "Napoleon" from "Animal Farm". Plaudits must go to Gedeck who plays well the conflicted character who must juggle her love and her life and to Mühe who shows that as a former master of the indoctrinating arts, "Wiesler" too might be capable of change. Of humanity even. There's a fun scene where one of their colleagues is telling a joke about Erich Honecker and is accidentally overheard. We see him again later - but neither character is doing the job they signed up for!

Official Trailer

The Lives of Others( 2006)

Before the Fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's Secret Police Listened to Your Secrets.

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A review by portman123

Written by portman123 on Sat Jan 13 2024

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