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

Nicolette Krebitz auditioned for the role of Christa, which eventually went to Martina Gedeck.

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Goofs

When uncle Hauser is calling from Berlin (West) you can see a bus from the public transportation service that was not introduced until the mid or late 1990s, passing the phone booth.

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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

Referenced in Yperoha plasmata: Tis Aristeras kai tis Proodou... (2008)

User Reviews

The ghost of authoritarian regimes

I've been taking German lessons for about 2 months now, and since movies were great in helping me learn English language I'm always looking for German films to watch (as well as German music to listen to) in order to educate my ears.

Anyway, I went to this place where I get all sort of rare movies and this one caught my attention... and I had no idea it got the Oscar for foreign language film this year! So I watched it without prejudice and... what did I find? A MASTERPIECE! This is the kind of movie that gets your attention from the first moment, and makes you interested in understanding the characters' psyche, which is very varied: you have the idealistic good guys, the idealistic bad guys, the people that broad their minds understanding that no political dogma is better than individual freedom, etc. And even though the movie has very tough moments it is all so well done and presented with such a good taste that in the end you feel some sort of relieved.

In this present day, when the ghost of authoritarian regimes still fly over our heads (in my country we're getting closer and closer to that reality), this movie will make you think about how important love, life and freedom are.

A must see!