Das Leben der Anderen (5 Stars)

Some films are slow because not very much happens. Others are slow because they have something more important to do than keep the story moving. "Das Leben der Anderen"  (engl. "The Lives of Others") belongs firmly in the second category.

Set in East Germany in the 1980's, the film takes us into the world of the Stasi, but what makes it different from many other films about life in the DDR is that we don't see the Stasi purely from the point of view of its victims. We spend a great deal of time with the people doing the watching.

Captain Gerd Wiesler is assigned to monitor playwright Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend, the actress Christa-Maria Sieland. Wiesler listens to their conversations, observes their private lives and reports anything that might be considered suspicious. At first he is simply doing his job. He believes in the system and has no apparent difficulty with what he is doing.

But then, gradually, something changes.

And it's not only Wiesler. One of the film's great strengths is that the Stasi isn't represented as one-dimensional. There are people who genuinely believe in what they are doing, people who are simply following orders, people interested in their careers and people prepared to abuse their position for their own personal purposes. The machinery of the state is made up of human beings, and that makes it considerably more disturbing.

The film is wonderfully atmospheric. There are no car chases, explosions or unnecessary attempts to manufacture excitement. The tension comes from people talking in rooms while somebody else is listening. A pause, a glance or a change in someone's voice can be more suspenseful than an action sequence.

It's obvious to compare it with other films about the DDR and the Stasi, films such as "Wie Feuer und Flamme" and "Der Rote Kakadu", but "Das Leben der Anderen" approaches the subject from a different direction. Those films show us what it was like to live under the system. This one takes us inside the system itself.

And that's what makes it so fascinating.

The performances are excellent, particularly Ulrich Mühe as Wiesler. He manages to say an enormous amount without saying very much at all. You can almost see his thoughts changing as he listens to the people he has been ordered to spy on.

It's a beautifully controlled film. Nothing is rushed and very little is overstated. Even when the story becomes deeply emotional, it doesn't resort to melodrama. The film trusts the audience to understand what is happening.

And then comes the ending. It's one of those endings that doesn't need a grand speech or an emotional explanation. A small gesture says everything.

"Das Leben der Anderen" is a brilliant film. It takes its time, but that's precisely why it works. The atmosphere, the performances and the gradual transformation of its characters are far more important than action or pace.

Some films are about what happens.

This is a film about what happens inside people.

Success Rate:  + 36.7