The Lives of Others (2006)
“Das Leben der Anderen”.
Drama, Mystery, Thriller |
The Lives of Others is a German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The plot is about the monitoring of East Berlin residents by agents of the Stasi, East Germany’s secret police. It stars Ulrich Mühe as Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler, Ulrich Tukur as his superior Anton Grubitz, Sebastian Koch as the playwright Georg Dreyman, and Martina Gedeck as Dreyman’s lover, a prominent actress named Christa-Maria Sieland.
The film was released in Germany on 23 March 2006. At the same time, the screenplay was published by Suhrkamp Verlag. The Lives of Others won the 2006 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The film had earlier won seven Deutscher Filmpreis awards—including those for best film, best director, best screenplay, best actor, and best supporting actor—after setting a new record with 11 nominations. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 64th Golden Globe Awards. The Lives of Others cost US$2 million and grossed more than US$77 million worldwide as of November 2007.
In 1984 East Germany, Stasi Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe), code name HGW XX/7, is ordered to spy on the playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), who has escaped state scrutiny due to his pro-Communist views and international recognition. Wiesler and his team bug the apartment, set up surveillance equipment in an attic, and begin reporting Dreyman’s activities. Wiesler learns that Dreyman has been put under surveillance at the request of the Minister of Culture, Bruno Hempf (Thomas Thieme), who covets Dreyman’s girlfriend, actress Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). After an intervention by Wiesler leads to Dreyman’s discovering Sieland’s relationship with Hempf, he implores her not to meet him again. Sieland flees to a nearby bar where Wiesler, posing as a fan, urges her to be true to herself. She returns home and reconciles with Dreyman.
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Writer: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Stars: Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Volkmar Kleinert
Cast:
| Martina Gedeck | … | Christa-Maria Sieland |
| Ulrich Mühe | … | Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler |
| Sebastian Koch | … | Georg Dreyman |
| Ulrich Tukur | … | Oberstleutnant Anton Grubitz |
| Thomas Thieme | … | Minister Bruno Hempf |
| Hans-Uwe Bauer | … | Paul Hauser |
| Volkmar Kleinert | … | Albert Jerska |
| Matthias Brenner | … | Karl Wallner |
| Charly Hübner | … | Udo |
| Herbert Knaup | … | Gregor Hessenstein |
| Bastian Trost | … | Häftling 227 |
| Marie Gruber | … | Frau Meineke |
| Volker Michalowski | … | Schriftexperte (as Zack Volker Michalowski) |
| Werner Daehn | … | Einsatzleiter in Uniform |
| Martin Brambach | … | Einsatzleiter Meyer |
| Hubertus Hartmann | … | Egon Schwalber |
| Thomas Arnold | … | Nowack |
| Hinnerk Schönemann | … | Unterleutnant Axel Stigler |
| Paul Faßnacht | … | Onkel Frank Hauser |
| Ludwig Blochberger | … | Benedikt Lehmann |
| Paul Maximilian Schüller | … | Junge mit Ball |
| Susanna Kraus | … | Andrea |
| Gabi Fleming | … | Prostituierte ‘Ute’ |
| Michael Gerber | … | Zahnarzt Dr. Czimmy |
| Fabian von Klitzing | … | Tagesschausprecher |
| Harald Polzin | … | Wächter |
| Sheri Hagen | … | ‘Martha’ 1991 |
| Gitta Schweighöfer | … | ‘Anja’ 1984 |
| Elja-Dusa Kedves | … | ‘Anja’ 1991 |
| Hildegard Schroedter | … | ‘Elena’ 1984 |
| Inga Birkenfeld | … | ‘Elena’ 1991 / BStU-Mitarbeiterin |
| Philipp Kewenig | … | Christas Verhafter |
| Jens Wassermann | … | ‘Rolf’ Andi Wenzke-Falkenau |
| Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky | … | Bandleader |
| Manfred Ludwig Sextett | … | Band |
| Kai Ivo Baulitz | … | Buchverkäufer |
| Charlene Beck | … | cubanische Schülerin (uncredited) |
| Ralf Ehrlich | … | Kollege in der Stasi-Kantine (uncredited) |
| Anabelle D. Munro | … | Theatre Actress (uncredited) |
| Klaus Münster | … | Erich Mielke (voice) (uncredited) |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia