Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)
As paranoid as it might sound, some of the things that happen in "Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)" aren't far removed from the current-day United States.What makes that particularly scary is that this dramatic thriller is set in 1980s-era East Berlin, which was run by a Socialist government, not a supposedly democratic one.
As for the film itself, this year's Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, it builds tension and develops its characters slowly. But it's surprisingly engrossing.
However, a few lurid bits could have been cut to make it a tighter movie.
The film's title refers to the job of Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), an interrogation officer for the Stasi, East Germany's secret police.
Wiesler is very skilled at his profession, and his instincts have led him to the apartment of Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), a playwright he suspects of subversive activities.
Wiesler's Stasi operatives bug Dreyman's apartment, and he begins the long process of collecting evidence against the writer and his girlfriend, actress Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck).
Wiesler starts to sympathize with the two — even as the evidence against them begins to mount.
It helps that he has this experienced, talented cast. Muhe is excellent as the conflicted Stasi officer, while it's Gedeck ("Mostly Marta") who provides the film's needed emotional heft.
"Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)" is rated R for simulated sex and other sexual contact, partial male and full female nudity, sexually suggestive talk, scatological references and profanity, and a brief scene of violence (an auto-pedestrian accident, mostly overheard). Running time: 132 minutes.
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