Das Leben der Anderen
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
At the beginning of the 1980s, in East Berlin, famous playwright Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend, actress Christa-Maria Sieland, are showered with glory and are part of the intellectual elite of the Communist State. The Ministry for State Security (the Stasi) begins to suspect them of criticising the regime. It entrusts officer CaptainGerdWieslerwith the mission of monitoring them by bugging their apartment. As the investigation goes on he becomes increasingly fascinated by the couple...
With : Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch
Screenplay : Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Image : Hagen Bogdanski
Editing : Patricia Rommel
Music : Stéphane Moucha, Gabriel Yared
Decors : Silke Buhr
Screenplay : Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Image : Hagen Bogdanski
Editing : Patricia Rommel
Music : Stéphane Moucha, Gabriel Yared
Decors : Silke Buhr
Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) falls within a repressive Germany, inherited from Nazism. Starting in 1976, Erich Honecker's regime hunted down any opposition to the system and set in place a climate of paranoia. East Germans, in particular artists and intellectuals who publically criticised the regime through their works were subject to permanent surveillance. This period was the cause of a wave of suicides, and East Germany came only to second to Hungary in the number of suicides. The Lives of Others met with critical and audience acclaim winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and the César for Best Foreign Film. This dramatic and political film is Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's first feature.