Cast: Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Martina Gedeck

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Screenplay: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Running time: 2 hrs 18 mins

Genre: Foreign Film/Drama/Thriller


CRITIQUE:


For a time, when THE LIVES OF OTHERS bagged last year’s Oscar’s Best Foreign Film, beating out the highly-acclaimed and the most deserving PAN’S LABYRINTH, for many it was a form of injustice in the making – well, at least for those who haven’t seen this German film. Whatever sophistication one could think of the latter, the former is surely blessed not only of sophistication but also of masterclass and towering audacity. In fact, THE LIVES OF OTHERS brims with sheer intelligence and a compelling touch of humanity that would not leave the house dry without tears, for anyone with a heart to feel and a brain to think. Now it’s unfair to say PAN’S LABYRINTH should have received the triumph, when THE LIVES OF OTHERS deserved so much more, even more than an Oscar win could give to a film.


Here is a tale that focuses on Captain Weisler (Ulrich Mühe), hard-faced, stubborn, buttoned-up apparatchik responsible on spying for suspicious citizens. If it sounds like Big Brother, then coincidentally, the year is set in the Orwellian 1984 when East Germany was seething with paranoia over its nation and strangling its citizens with fierce grip, quelling the rising tide of nonconformists. The Wall was still up, and the measure taken was to spy on its citizens, hence the ill-famed “Stasi”. However, this political madness only serves as a backdrop to an astounding story of redemption, morality and the finding of voice in a time of suppression. Sometime, somewhere up in a loft, there is a man on headphones, warily listening to every sound and movement of two supposedly suspicious citizens, one a playwright (Sebastian Koch) and his girlfriend, a stage actress (Martina Gedeck). But as slowly as their lives unfold, Weisler commits something unintended to happen: he becomes involve and entangled in the lives of these others. He soon questions the morality of his employment, and fights for these two voices who seek for artistic freedom in a society who fears about it.


Captain Weisler is such an astonishing character to watch, and the late Ulrich Mühe (the renowned German actor passed away from stomach cancer a month after this film bagged an Oscar) plays him with unbelievable compassion. From the beginning of the film, we see him as a buttoned-up, authoritative man faced with responsibilities he must carry, who has no life of his own, who just listen to other peoples’ lives, but then two hours later of the film, Mühe achieves to pull off a stunning character arch almost impossible to be pulled out of such a character we’ve been introduced two hours ago. He completely becomes human, not a regimented political robot, whose face is a testament to emotional restraint. This might be a performance and a character as immense and remarkable as Liam Neeson’s Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece SCHINDLER’S LIST. The last scene in the film, in a quiet, dignified manner, Mühe’s swansong performance strikes wholly different and creates a stir that’s unforgettable – a poignant impression.


But the plaudits share to the director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, quite a mouthful of a name, probably some won’t even remember it, but definitely a director of refined skill. He does not only give THE LIVES OF OTHERS a sizzling and gripping atmosphere of thriller, but he delves deeper into the humanity of his characters. He builds his story in a careful, unhurried manner, yet creates tension expertly scene by scene. Meanwhile, what really remains as a great imprint is the film’s vital, moving message about the sacrifice of artistic souls in the era which doesn’t understand freedom of speech, and the compassion of one man who sees the good in the darkest of evils.


THE FINAL WORD:


This is one brilliant film made, told with most compassion and bravery. THE LIVES OF OTHERS is a mesmerising thriller, riveting drama crafted with a dazzlingly heart-wrenching climax that will stay with you possibly forever.



RATING: A+