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What’s the Story?

Reviewed by Cynthia Fuchs

In 1984 East Berlin, Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe), a captain in the East German Ministry for State Security, is assigned to observe playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and look for proof that he's not as loyal as he seems. In the course of his surveillance, Wiesler discovers that Dreyman's live-in actress girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), is cheating on him with the odious Minister Bruno Hempf (Thomas Thieme), who threatens to ruin her career if she doesn't submit to him. Though Wiesler's take on the situation begins to diverge from his superiors' as his sympathy for the couple grows, he knows how to cover his tracks. But he soon finds himself at the center of a swirl of deception and develops a relationship of sorts with Christa-Maria. Wiesler doesn't so much doubt his previous convictions -- that his work is crucial in maintaining order -- as rationalize his new belief. To boil it down to the most basic level: Art transforms him.

Is It Any Good?

4

Taut and intelligent, The Lives of Others was the German nominee for 2007's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

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