Do you believe in time travel? I didn't for a long time until I visited Berlin in 1989. I was in a youth delegation and at that time, the rapidly diminishing Berlin wall was making headlines everywhere thus, becoming a grossly unattractive tourist attraction.
I recall strolling through the affluent, bustling, modern west Berlin and suddenly, I found myself in a city street I only saw at archived pictures. The sidewalks were cracks laden, the houses-charred and the public parks seemed like the headquarters of weed-gone-wild. It was very much like the Berlin immediately after world war two. I know that I didn't have to go to Berlin to see a city which entails neglected areas as well as well maintained ones. Hell, I don't have to go outside the very city I live in (Jerusalem) to see that, but Berlin of 1989 wasn't a city of different economic classes, it was two adjacent cities each located in a different dimensions and one of these dimensions was stagnant.
The stagnant dimension east Berlin is the home of Georg Dreymen, a high renowned author/ playwright and also a strong believer of the socialist ideology. his wife, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck in a flawless performance) is one of the most prominent actresses in East Germany. Dreyman and Sieland are articulate, take pride in their country's ideology and also happen to be talented in their craft and boast many powerful friends. One might think they are the last people to pose a threat to the regime. That is unless one works in the Stazi, the secret police of East Germany. The Stazi, "the shield and sword of the party" as their motto exclaimed, were the embodiment of Orwell's vision of "1984". The "Big brother" in a thick, German accent. One of the Stazi's employees, a bureaucrat called Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe in a wonderful performance) takes charge of the couple's surveillance, waiting to see if the golden boy of the regime plots against it.
Surely enough, Wiesler, the well seasoned Stazi agent, finds out that his instincts were right and that Dreymen is willing to risk his stature in order to reveal the real story of the country that stifles any shred of independent thought and prosecutes its intellectuals to isolation, frustration and, in many cases, to "self inflicted murders" as the regime defines it.
Wiesler knows that this information can guarantee him a lifetime of privileges most East-Germans can only dream of but as he continues his surveillance, a peculiar transformation occurs, Wiesler can no longer see Dreyman and his wife as subjects, or targets to neutralize. he finds himself enchanted by the couple's mutual love and spirit and decides to give precedence to their silent struggle rather than to the interests of the organization he was once so proud of. What happens next is for you to find out and for me to be mesmerized by.
Today it seems way too easy to mock the Communist regimes but what many seem to forget is that Communism (and I am saying this as a capitalist) is probably the most well intentioned ruling system conceived by man. The society of no classes, where everyone gets to live a respectable life is a noble notion. No hidden sarcasm here, I truly mean that. Communism failed not because of the Stazi's ruthlessness or because of Stalin's atrocities (although none of those helped), it failed because of the human nature. Mankind always fought first and foremost, for egotistical purposes. It may not be flattering but it's true all the same. In East Germany, the monetary system was not the universal reward for one's abilities so influence, information and terror became the hard currency. You can consider the methodical diligence and thoroughness of the Stazi as evil but in reality, all Weisler did, at least at first, was just derived of human nature.
Humanity is the corner stone of the film and the director (I would have written his name but I have a thousand words limit...) propels the film with the humanity of the characters. The dialogs are not only credible but also vivid. The lively world of those who chose not to stifle their creativity is masterfully accentuated against the Grey buildings of East Germany and the portrayal of Wiesler, the former emotionally crippled agent. It's that contrast between the human spirit and the Government interests that brought the demise of East-Germany. I could go on and on about the masterful direction, the perfect script or the superb acting (Ulrich Muhe's performance of Wiesler is nothing short of captivating. His recent death is a gigantic loss to the Cinematic world, no doubt) but the truth is that this movie leaves such an impression for a different reason altogether. That reason is the perfect blend of talent, passion and diligent film making. Every scene is crucial for the plot or to accentuate the state of mind of the protagonists; Every shot masterfully designed to build up towards the inevitable climax. The two hours of this film are so engrossing that every single viewer transforms to the dreaded East-German citizen, frozen by his own thoughts and the possibility that someone might be aware of them.
10 out of 10 in my FilmOmeter.
P.S. This film is set to be "Hollywoodized". An English language remake is scheduled for 2010. I know some might have trouble with the German language but I also know this: The odds that the hypothetical (as of 2007) remake will achieve the impact of this film is slim to none. I would hate to see this film reduced to a pale, English speaking copy simply because some people can't get used to sub-titles.
I recall strolling through the affluent, bustling, modern west Berlin and suddenly, I found myself in a city street I only saw at archived pictures. The sidewalks were cracks laden, the houses-charred and the public parks seemed like the headquarters of weed-gone-wild. It was very much like the Berlin immediately after world war two. I know that I didn't have to go to Berlin to see a city which entails neglected areas as well as well maintained ones. Hell, I don't have to go outside the very city I live in (Jerusalem) to see that, but Berlin of 1989 wasn't a city of different economic classes, it was two adjacent cities each located in a different dimensions and one of these dimensions was stagnant.
The stagnant dimension east Berlin is the home of Georg Dreymen, a high renowned author/ playwright and also a strong believer of the socialist ideology. his wife, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck in a flawless performance) is one of the most prominent actresses in East Germany. Dreyman and Sieland are articulate, take pride in their country's ideology and also happen to be talented in their craft and boast many powerful friends. One might think they are the last people to pose a threat to the regime. That is unless one works in the Stazi, the secret police of East Germany. The Stazi, "the shield and sword of the party" as their motto exclaimed, were the embodiment of Orwell's vision of "1984". The "Big brother" in a thick, German accent. One of the Stazi's employees, a bureaucrat called Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe in a wonderful performance) takes charge of the couple's surveillance, waiting to see if the golden boy of the regime plots against it.
Surely enough, Wiesler, the well seasoned Stazi agent, finds out that his instincts were right and that Dreymen is willing to risk his stature in order to reveal the real story of the country that stifles any shred of independent thought and prosecutes its intellectuals to isolation, frustration and, in many cases, to "self inflicted murders" as the regime defines it.
Wiesler knows that this information can guarantee him a lifetime of privileges most East-Germans can only dream of but as he continues his surveillance, a peculiar transformation occurs, Wiesler can no longer see Dreyman and his wife as subjects, or targets to neutralize. he finds himself enchanted by the couple's mutual love and spirit and decides to give precedence to their silent struggle rather than to the interests of the organization he was once so proud of. What happens next is for you to find out and for me to be mesmerized by.
Today it seems way too easy to mock the Communist regimes but what many seem to forget is that Communism (and I am saying this as a capitalist) is probably the most well intentioned ruling system conceived by man. The society of no classes, where everyone gets to live a respectable life is a noble notion. No hidden sarcasm here, I truly mean that. Communism failed not because of the Stazi's ruthlessness or because of Stalin's atrocities (although none of those helped), it failed because of the human nature. Mankind always fought first and foremost, for egotistical purposes. It may not be flattering but it's true all the same. In East Germany, the monetary system was not the universal reward for one's abilities so influence, information and terror became the hard currency. You can consider the methodical diligence and thoroughness of the Stazi as evil but in reality, all Weisler did, at least at first, was just derived of human nature.
Humanity is the corner stone of the film and the director (I would have written his name but I have a thousand words limit...) propels the film with the humanity of the characters. The dialogs are not only credible but also vivid. The lively world of those who chose not to stifle their creativity is masterfully accentuated against the Grey buildings of East Germany and the portrayal of Wiesler, the former emotionally crippled agent. It's that contrast between the human spirit and the Government interests that brought the demise of East-Germany. I could go on and on about the masterful direction, the perfect script or the superb acting (Ulrich Muhe's performance of Wiesler is nothing short of captivating. His recent death is a gigantic loss to the Cinematic world, no doubt) but the truth is that this movie leaves such an impression for a different reason altogether. That reason is the perfect blend of talent, passion and diligent film making. Every scene is crucial for the plot or to accentuate the state of mind of the protagonists; Every shot masterfully designed to build up towards the inevitable climax. The two hours of this film are so engrossing that every single viewer transforms to the dreaded East-German citizen, frozen by his own thoughts and the possibility that someone might be aware of them.
10 out of 10 in my FilmOmeter.
P.S. This film is set to be "Hollywoodized". An English language remake is scheduled for 2010. I know some might have trouble with the German language but I also know this: The odds that the hypothetical (as of 2007) remake will achieve the impact of this film is slim to none. I would hate to see this film reduced to a pale, English speaking copy simply because some people can't get used to sub-titles.