the lives of others...i saw this film for the second time tonight, and was blown away even more this time. i cant find anything that i dont like about this movie. the acting is amazing, the writing is smart, dramatic, and funny, the music is beautiful and complements the film - even at times adds a sense of irony to the story. its amazing because the ddr oppressed so many people - even the members of the stasi. one of the main characters, hauptmann gerd wiesler, is hired to maintain constant surveillance over actress christa-maria sieland and writer georg dreyman. although wiesler has control over the fate of sieland and dreyman, he, too, becomes a victim of the stasi. wiesler is lonely, isolated, and controlled by the higher powers at the stasi, and because of his sadness and isolation, he ultimately begins living vicariously through the lives of the people he is watching. he evolves from being a dominating professor and interrogator to an individual who gains empathy for and experiences emotion through the relationship of sieland and dreyman. wiesler isnt the only stasi police member who is victimized by the system, the building he lives in is full of stasi - all of them are frequented by prostitutes who fleetingly provide them with a sense of perverse motherly comfort and physical satisfaction. the lives of others covers so much ground, it is challenging to take it all in upon the first viewing.
- paulo coehlo
