The Lives of Others

Original title: Das Leben der Anderen

20062006
14A14A
2h 17m

IMDb RATING

8.4/10

392K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,094

Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, and Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others (2006)

Drama Mystery Thriller

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.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.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.

IMDb RATING

8.4/10

392K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,094

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Top rated movie #58

Won 1 Oscar
- 80 wins & 38 nominations total

Photos70

Martina Gedeck and Sebastian Koch in The Lives of Others (2006)

Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others (2006)

Martina Gedeck in The Lives of Others (2006)

Sebastian Koch in The Lives of Others (2006)

Thomas Arnold, Thomas Thieme, and Ulrich Tukur in The Lives of Others (2006)

Ulrich Mühe and Ulrich Tukur in The Lives of Others (2006)

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
All the listening/recording props in the film are actual Stasi equipment on loan from museums and collectors. The props master had spent two years in a Stasi prison, and insisted upon absolute authenticity, down to the machine used to steam-open up to 600 letters per hour.

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.

Quotes
[last lines]
Buchverkäufer: 29.80. Would you like it gift wrapped?
Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: No. It's for me.

Alternate versions
The US version features a written prologue in English, explaining the historical context of the film.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Best Films of 2006 (2006)

Soundtracks
Ich Wurde Wenn Ich Wusste, Dass Ich Konnte
Performed by 4PS
Lyrics By Kurt Demmler
Music By Joachim-Franz Bartzsch
Published By Edition Air Franz
(P) 2007 Colosseum Music Entertainment GmbH, Licensed From Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Germany) GmbH

User reviews569

Review

Featured review

8/10

A wonderful film that deserves a wide audience

I saw this film in its North American premiere in a packed theater at the Toronto Int'l Film Festival this past week and was pleased to be part of a standing ovation at the end for the director and star, who were both on hand.

"The Lives of Others," set in East Germany not long before the fall of the Berlin Wall, tells the moving story of a police investigator forced to confront himself and the work he does. In a society poisoned by secrecy, fear and the abuse of power, a number of the movie's characters -- artists, actors, writers -- must look deep inside and decide what they are made of; none more so than the investigator.

This is a movie that took me to a place and time that felt very authentic, for a tale that was very satisfying.

Ulrich Muhe, who plays the investigator, is mesmerizing, and the young director is to be applauded for this, his first full-length film. Some have compared "The Lives of Others" to Coppola's "The Conversation" but the two have completely different story arcs and are only superficially similar.

Both my companion and I felt this was our favorite of the six films we had a chance to see at the festival.

helpful•194