The Lives of Others (2006)
"Das Leben der Anderen" (original title)

In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.

Director:

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Writer:

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Stars:

Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch

Top 250 #61 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 66 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martina Gedeck	...	Christa-Maria Sieland
Ulrich Mühe	...	Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler
Sebastian Koch	...	Georg Dreyman
Ulrich Tukur	...	Oberstleutnant Anton Grubitz
Thomas Thieme	...	Minister Bruno Hempf
Hans-Uwe Bauer	...	Paul Hauser
Volkmar Kleinert	...	Albert Jerska
Matthias Brenner	...	Karl Wallner
Charly Hübner	...	Udo
Herbert Knaup	...	Gregor Hessenstein
Bastian Trost	...	Häftling 227
Marie Gruber	...	Frau Meineke
Volker Michalowski	...	Schriftexperte (as Zack Volker Michalowski)
Werner Daehn	...	Einsatzleiter in Uniform
Martin Brambach	...	Einsatzleiter Meyer

Storyline

In the early 1980s, Georg Dreyman (a successful dramatist) and his longtime companion Christa-Maria Sieland (a popular actress), were huge intellectual stars in (former) East Germany, although they secretly don't always toe the party line. One day, the Minister of Culture becomes interested in Christa, so the secret service agent Wiesler is instructed to observe and sound out the couple, but their life fascinates him more and more.

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Plot Keywords:

actress | east germany | secret police | surveillance | police | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [us]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

23 March 2006 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Lives of Others

Filming Locations:

Gedenkstätte Hohenschönhausen, Hohenschönhausen, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£223,586 (UK) (13 April 2007)

Gross:

$11,284,657 (USA) (7 September 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arte, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), Creado Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Brecht poem that Wiesler reads is called "Erinnerung an die Marie A.".

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Goofs

Secretary Hempf's car is a 1980s stretch version of a Volvo 264. But all the interior scenes are shot using a Mercedes Benz S-Class Pullmann from the time of the film production. In a short clip the Mercedes is also used for an exterior shot, when Grubitz enters the car outside the ministry building.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Guard: [subtitled version] Stand still. Eyes to the floor.
[pause]
Guard: Walk on.

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Connections

References Salesman (1968)

User Reviews

A German Expat Feels his first pang of forlorn German patriotism

This film utterly blew me away. Full disclosure: I'm a German born (Munich born) German-American who left Germany in 1986, before the wall came down. I cannot describe the feeling I felt as the last few words were spoken on the screen. I could not look at the subtitles ( a habit of speaking two languages ) because my eyes were so full of tears. I cannot tell you how I was so sorry I did not experience the wall coming down. This film healed a wound that may have been left by the nightmare years of 1938-1945, my own great uncle being a Nazi war criminal, convicted in Nuremberg in 1946. Yes, we are mensch too. We have the potential for greatness (of character) in spite of our history. Thank you Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, for giving me back half of my lost soul in this single "es ist für mich". I am reminded again that the difference between ourselves and beasts is that we have a choice.