GRADE: 9
In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.
Original Title: Das Leben der Anderen
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Country: Germany | France
THOUGHTS:
Sometimes a film is great not because it does anything particular new or innovative, but simply because it tells a great story exceedingly well. That’s the case with The Lives of Others. Though it could be accused of telling an unrealistic tale about the one-time German Democratic Republic of East Germany, it does so to make an important point about the persistence of human connection amid even the most oppressive societies. It feels almost like a fairy tale—a feel-good story, for sure, but not one without dire consequences, and warnings for future generations.