The Lives of Others, directed by Florian
Henckel von Donnersmarck, highlights the struggles of life in Stasi-controlled,
East Germany. The film focuses on a playwright’s attempt to create change, and
the Stasi’s attempts to suppress such change. Donnersmarck highlights the
internal, moral struggle caused by the external pressures of East German
society. Individuals were forced to find
a balance between their personal lives and their relationship with the State. The Lives of Others highlights the
consequences of this relationship being thrown out of balance. Ultimately, Donnersmarck shows that personal
relationships are more important to the well being of an individual.
In order to fully
understand The Lives of Others, one
must understand the situation in East Germany in 1984. East Germany was under a
socialist regime, known as the GDR. This regime was controlled by a secret
police, known as the Stasi. The Stasi controlled all aspects of life, from the
food people ate, to the clothes they wore, to the entertainment they saw.
The first
character introduced is Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler, he works for the Stasi and
comes off as being extremely loyal to the State. He is given the task of
watching Georg Dyrman, a popular playwright. His job is to make sure Dryman
isn’t committing any crimes against the state. Dryman is loyal to the state
until one of his friends, a fellow artist, commits suicide after being blacklisted.
This drives Dryman to write an excerpt on how the GDR covers up the statistics
on suicides, a clear violation of GDR law. Wiesler knows this yet does nothing
to stop it. Eventually Wiesler’s superiors catch wind that Dryman is the author
and use his girlfriend, Christa Maria Sieland, an actress, to turn on him. They
go to Dryman’s house to retrieve evidence. As they enter the house, Christa
Maria, overcome with guilt, runs in front of a car, committing suicide. However
Wiesler had already hid the evidence. He is fired and Dryman goes free. Dryman,
after the wall falls, finds out what Wiesler did for him and dedicates his new
book to him.
Both Wiesler and Christa
Maria struggle balancing personal relationships with their relationship to the
State. Wiesler’s time spent observing Dryman’s relationship with Christa Maria
leads to him turning his back on the State. Early in his life, Weisler made the
choice to value the State above those close to him, every night he goes home,
he is alone. He longs for the type of relationship that Dryman and Christa
Maria have. This desire for human interaction leads to his corruption and
causes him to betray the State, not reporting Dryman’s crimes.
Christa Maria does the opposite. She choses to
turn on the man she loves, Dryman, in order to maintain a good relationship
with the State and continue her acting career. However this proves deadly as
she cannot take seeing her relationship with Dryman fall apart and Dryman go to
jail. Christa Maria turning her back on Dryman, forgoing her personal
relationship for the well being of the State, leads to her eventual suicide. Overall
Donnersmarck shows that personal relationships are more crucial than the
relationship one has with their governing body.
Director: Florian Henckel
von Donnersmarck
Writer: Florian Henckel von
Donnersmarck
Stars: Ulrich Mühe, Martina
Gedeck, Sebastian Koch
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