One of the best and most powerful films I've seen in a long time. Takes a highly interesting time and transforms it into a mere backdrop for an amazing performance by the actors. The only shameful part of the movie is that the English translations are pure crap, and close to nothing what is actually being said. I'm not talking about literal translation, I mean you get a completely different idea of what is going on if you don't speak German and have to follow the subtitles. PS - The LA Weekly critic has it's head up you know where... The director / writer of this movie was not trying to say the people in the Stasi were just following orders. He was trying to show they are humans too. In the beginning, the main character who works for the Stasi was 100% loyal to the State, and later becomes more human from spying on these people, realizing he has no life. Typical Americans and their hubris, overshadowing the true meaning of things. And that's coming from a fellow American.… Expand

The best movie I've seen in a long LONG time. It's a movie that manages to be both entertaining and meaningful, heartbreaking and uplifting. This is a great movie.

If a great symphony could be turned into a movie, this would be it. Moments that seem happenstance take on greater importance upon reflection. Nothing could be added or taken away without diminishing the overall impact. This isn't a good movie, it is a great one.

An absolutely incredible performance by ulrich muhe(gkw.7) best movie i've seen in years.

SEE the film. AVOID the reviews,(at least until after you've seen it.) Too many spoilers. Being an observer as the characters unfold, reveal and transform themseves is one the beauties of this film. Incredible acting, exquisitely crafted story, a true work of art.

No comment. It's just plain good.

One of the most powerful and affecting films ever to take the viewer inside the minds of the perpetrators of oppression. Brilliantly constructed, avoiding predictability and cliche the denouement is extraordinarily moving and insightful.

Very disappointing and unperceptive wise-aleck review from Mr. Foundas. The picture is no more nostalgic for the days of East German Communism than any equivalent film dealing with a Nazi functionary's gradual change of heart would be for the Third Reich. Since East German Communism finally fell without the firing of a shot, one can certainly infer that by the end of that regime, it must have been riddled with just the sort of disillusioned secret policemen Foundas finds so unbelievable here. Nor is it particularly the policeman's exposure to art that subverts his loyalties to the state; a deeper and fairer reading of his character might locate the reason for that change in his discontent with his own empty personal life, compared to the appealing human attachments of the people he's spying on.....Where do I apply to write film reviews for LA Weekly?… Expand

Great movie. Even the East German Stassi can get mugged by reality. American liberals, are you paying attention?

A superb film with touching, convincing characters who show that, despite the minister's prediction at the beginning, one can change for the best. A remarquable ending. The film's message is similar to Pan's Labyrinth's, but this movie, in my mind, is superior (though my husband disagrees). A ne pas rater.

Best film I've seen in years - it sticks in your mind and doesn't let go. Nearly all reviews have extensive spoilers - avoid reading them and just go see this splendid film.

Powerful and involving drama without Hollywood style overdrawn characters and cliche plot twists. Really really good. The kind of film Clint Eastwood is unable to make, no matter how hard he tries. NOTE: We all agree that the guy from L.A. Weekly is out of his league!

Best film of the year, no doubt about it. See this film!

Extraordinary film. I cannot stop thinking about it. This film deserves an Oscar for best foreign film and any other presigious awards available. Don't miss it.

Great film. Enjoyed it while watching it, and the more I think about it, the better it seems. As others have said, the ending was perfect. Many times I don't understand how critics and viewers can rate films as they do - this time, the reviews were right on. I hope Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck continues making great films - I saw him outside the AFI Spirit awards, and, in addition to making this great film, he seemed like a truly nice person.… Expand

A very tense and deeply moving film.

Undoubtedly, one of the best films I have ever seen! The casting was excellent. It must be seen! Having sub-titles adds to the film, I would hate to see it dubbed!

Smart, simple, intelligent, funny. The new post-Berlin wall cinema (as Goodbye Lenin) teaches us that you don

I didn't expect the quality I witnessed when I saw this film. The acting is superbly subtle and the issues of the period delicately positioned around the characters to create a rewarding and technically superb experience.

Not overpraised at all. This is one of the best films of our time.

Deeply, deeply moving!...my god what a masterpiece.

Really lives up to its acclaim. A brilliant, engaging film with no discernable flaws.

Thrilling and emotionally involving.

Saw the movie in the qualifying week it played in L.A. It moved me and the rest of the audience to tears!! Missed 3 1/2 minutes because I had to go the bathroom, though, 'cos it was pretty long. Can't believe the comments by the L.A. weekly guy Scott Foundas. How can anyone be so stupid? The only likeable Stassi guy is the one man who STOPS OBEYING ORDERS!! How he could call this revisionist and Nazi is beyond me. His comments are not worth the paper they're printed on. But go and see this film!!… Collapse

Excellent and very well done movie - reflecting painful truth...

Sometimes a film, even if it gets a bit too melodramatic, even when it has a bit too much of a predictable and "clean" ending, does not leave one's thoughts for days. This, surely, is the sign of a great film. Even as I sat there, aware of all the classic "cinema" moments in the film, and predicting the too predictable clear cut ending in the films later years moment by moment as it unfolded, I still didn't mind. For once I loved being party to predictability unfolding. Which speaks to the skill of this particular filmmaker... This is exactly how I felt during the Italian film Best of Youth. I think people need to see this more as a human story than a German one - it could have been set in any repressed part of human history. Its simply a lovely piece of storytelling with great restraint and skill.… Expand

Absolutely magic. It's not about politics, it's about mankind and the best it has to offer under harsh conditions. And that ending, man, it's breathtaking... If you only see two or three movies this year, make sure this is one. You will NOT regret, guaranteed.

Best movie since Apocolypto since Walk the Line since Gone with the Wind since...? This movie is very smart and the payoff is worth the journey/subtitles once again. This movie is about the reality of what took place from '77 to '89 East Berlin. Socialism and the West are starkly portrayed. The written word is convicting. The freedom of expression is subdued despite the pleas for mercy.

Best foreign language film I've seen since "The Best of Youth". I can see why Pan's Labyrinth lost best foreign film at the academy awards. This movie is more honest and in-depth and in turn hits its emotional high points with more intensity. Bravo.

Very good, a simple, intense plot. The Stasi officer is great in the role. A little slow for the first half.

Excellent film. Pan's Labyrinth still should've won the Oscar over it, but i loved this movie nonetheless. It's amazing this is the guy's first feature film. Can't wait to see what he does next, and where his career will end up.

Screenwriting at its most meaningful and mature. This thriller, romance, period piece, and character study will stand the test of time and grow in prestige as the years go by.

It reminded me very much of my brief encounter in East Berlin with the split in being a human being within the totalitarian state and the red tape senior officers had to subject themselves too. The decision how to deal with my situation was refered to the PolitBureau.
I am not and never was a citizen of the DDR.

All actors are fantastic in this film which never lets go of the viewer. Till i saw it I thought "After the Wedding" should have won best Foreign.

Excellent! The only movie that I could whole-heartedly recommend this year. The lead is a revelation.

This is the best foreign movie I have seen in a long time. It deals with the political and personal realities of its time in a totally different way than Pan's Labyrinth. Both excellent movies, I would rate Lives of Others a little higher because it gave the characters more breath, more subtlety of emotion.

Despite the LA weekly review this movie does NOT imply anything. The viewer (as in so many German movies these days) is shown just 'another' side of the coin. Fictional or not, in order to write and portait such a metamorphosis in a little over 2 hours takes great acting talent. No car chases, special effects and gunfights needed. Thank you Ulrich Mühe and rest in peace.

Films don't get much better than this. A simple story that manages to portray human strength and weakness in uncommonly poignant terms and does so with humor and wit. Must-see simply for the reminder of how malignant the power of the state can be.

Once in a blue moon I will agree with critics, except as usual with the LA weekly who never understood anything about movies . This is movie making at its best, very poignant especially for those of us who grew up confronting the iron curtain

Terrific German film, similar to The Conversation. Won both US and British Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Tense, intimate, uncompromising, a must see!

It may seem as though control systems are monoliths, but they are run by people, whose human hearts may occasionally be able to transcend their highly-constrained roles within those systems. And the small crack in the wall that you see may be a sign of a much larger breach waiting to bring down the entire house of Usher. This film shows us the fascinating interplay between the small and the large parts of that process. The story unfolds with one revelation after another, deepening our understanding of the characters and also of the surprising level of human goodness that can be expressed even under extremely difficult circumstances. An optimistic film that justifies its optimism through its believable and highly sympathetic characters.… Expand

Absolutely amazing film. I had to see this after it beat Pan's Labyrinth for best foreign language film. I don't want to spoil it so I'll keep this brief. See the movie, you won't be disappointed.

An exceptionally good film. The final moment is both understated and incredibly moving. See it.

A top notch, well made film. Some of the finest acting I have seen. Subtitles are not a problem.

Powerful, low key, very insightful ! well written, acted, directed.

Superb film. A little 'on-the-nose' there at the end, but really, this is just a solid solid film. Before I had seen this, I was a bit in disbelief anything could've beaten Pan's Labyrinth for best FL film at the Oscars--but now I see why (still think Pan is better though). And Ulrich Muhe's character (HGW) is one of the best performances/stories I've seen on film in some time. Definitely worth the DVD rental.… Expand

This is a slow paced film with English subtitles. If that turns you off, you may not be aware enough to enjoy it. It requires a certain understanding of the balls it took to make this film and what it says about Fascism and putting too much power in the hands of a few unchecked individuals. While I certainly enjoy the "Armageddon" or "Independence Day" this movie has stuck with me for more that two months. I found a few minor flaws, none worth mentioning. When you're in the mood to slow down and pay attention to something that matters, this is it.… Expand

Not only is this film well written with fantastic performances, but it accurate and a great portrayal of the events following the post WWII occupation of germany.

Very thrilling and exciting movie, the whole time I was stuck to the screen, because i was really interested in the concept of the film. It wasn't like that usual stalker movie that you watch, there's much more to it, then just that, and that made the film stand out. It was just perfect.

powerful, thought provoking film where it questions your duty towards your country [ however oppressive that is]. The best german movie so far in my viewing.

The Lives of Others is a movie about the German Stasi - essentially the secret police. The main idea of the movie was the Stasi monitoring a man named Georg Dreyman. In some parts of the movie it can be a little sad or dark, but in the end, it has a very touching message. It shows, through a man named Weisler, that mankind can have good in them as well as bad. He helped Dreyman, an innocent man, escape the punishment of the Stasi. Even though he wound up risking and ruining his career, Weisler still saved Dreyman multiple times without even Dreyman knowing it. That is something that can be hard to grasp because most people are unwilling to help someone to that extent when they themselve lose more than they gain. It actually goes against our normal instinct as human being. As well as being an uplifting an somewhat emotional movie, there are many, many, many deeper psychological aspecs to it. Overall, a great movie!… Expand

Similar to the communist witch hunts that alarmed American's in the 1950's, "The Lives Of Others" offers a riveting view of life behind the Berlin Wall. It's 1984 in East Berlin and Capt. Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe) is a secret agent of the Stasi, who investigate people who are suspected of undermining government authority. But his newest subject has an unanticipated effect on the Captain. He sits in an attic day after day, night after night, spying on the people in the flat below.
The flat is occupied by a playwright named Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and his mistress, the actress Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). Wiesle first saw Dreyman at the opening of one of his plays, where he was informed by a colleague that Dreyman was a successful man. Dreyman is good-looking, successful, with a beautiful lover; he must be getting away with something. Driven by suspicion, or perhaps by envy, Wiesler has Dreyman's flat wired and begins an official eavesdropping inquiry. Though von Donnersmarck accords Dreyman and Crista a fair amount of screen time, their roles are to act as catalysts. This is Wiesler's story and, although there are moments of tragedy, it's ultimately one of redemption. Wiesler is a fascinating character in that he is a blank slate if you will, trained by his life to reflect no emotion. Sometimes not even his eyes move. As played in Muehe's performance of infinite subtlety, he watches Dreyman as a cat awaits a mouse. And he begins to internalize their lives, because he has no life of his own; no lover, no hobbies, no distraction from his single-minded job. Wiesler has no one he can really talk to. His gradual transition from loyal soldier to actual human being is what's most compelling throughout. The seduction depicted in "The Lives of Others" is inadvertent. Wiesler is enticed by the possibility of art, meaning, and love, all of which are absent from his existence, but present in that of Dreyman and Crista. Wiesler lives in a bare apartment, with nothing to distinguish it from a hotel room and, when he desires company, he calls a prostitute. By listening to Dreyman and Crista, he discovers the potential of a more fulfilling existence. Eventually, his desire to be part of something meaningful leads him to act to protect the couple, even though his actions violate the law and place his career in jeopardy. Gripping and arresting drama from first time director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is masterfully executed. Ulrich Muhe gives a phenomenal performance, a film that will stand the test of time. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Language Film.… Expand