Michael McKean draws on his 231 acting credits to share his best Hollywood stories as he plays our game of "Role the Dice."
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Title: The Lives of Others (2006)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Martina Gedeck | ... | Christa-Maria Sieland | |
| Ulrich Mühe | ... | Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler | |
| Sebastian Koch | ... | Georg Dreyman | |
| Ulrich Tukur | ... | Oberstleutnant Anton Grubitz | |
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Thomas Thieme | ... | Minister Bruno Hempf |
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Hans-Uwe Bauer | ... | Paul Hauser |
| Volkmar Kleinert | ... | Albert Jerska | |
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Matthias Brenner | ... | Karl Wallner |
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Charly Hübner | ... | Udo |
| Herbert Knaup | ... | Gregor Hessenstein | |
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Bastian Trost | ... | Häftling 227 |
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Marie Gruber | ... | Frau Meineke |
| Volker Michalowski | ... | Schriftexperte (as Zack Volker Michalowski) | |
| Werner Daehn | ... | Einsatzleiter in Uniform | |
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Martin Brambach | ... | Einsatzleiter Meyer |
Gerd Wiesler is an officer with the Stasi, the East German secret police. The film begins in 1984 when Wiesler attends a play written by Georg Dreyman, who is considered by many to be the ultimate example of the loyal citizen. Wiesler has a gut feeling that Dreyman can't be as ideal as he seems, and believes surveillance is called for. The Minister of Culture agrees but only later does Wiesler learn that the Minister sees Dreyman as a rival and lusts after his partner Christa-Maria. The more time he spends listening in on them, the more he comes to care about them. The once rigid Stasi officer begins to intervene in their lives, in a positive way, protecting them whenever possible. Eventually, Wiesler's activities catch up to him and while there is no proof of wrongdoing, he finds himself in menial jobs - until the unbelievable happens. Written by garykmcd
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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.