Lewes Cinema - The Lives of Others

The Lives of Others takes place in East Berlin in 1984, a grey city in a gloomy period of its history, a place which hadn’t yet smelt the first revitalising whiff of Glasnost. You might call the film a political thriller, though it is far superior to most films which are placed in that genre. It follows the lives of two citizens, both of whom support the Communist system, both of whom find this support tested by circumstances.

Ulrich Muehe plays a Stasi agent who spends much of the film holed up in a playwright (Sebastian Koch’s) attic, having bugged his apartment, suspecting his stated support for the Communist regime to be a facade for more libertarian views. When he realises he has been manipulated into performing this task because his boss fancies the playwright’s wife (Martina Gedeck), he starts questioning his actions, and eventually covering up for the suspect, who remains oblivious to his presence upstairs. The writer has decided it is wrong for the state to cover up figures about the high suicide rate in the country, and has been writing pieces on the subject for the Western press.
Political thrillers normally throw you into an ethically black and white world, where you find yourself rooting for the goodies as they dash from one dangerous situation to another. The Lives of Others, aptly enough considering where and when it’s set, has you examining different shades of grey. An intelligent and absorbing film. DL