In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.
The take
The late German actor Ulrich Mühe plays Gerd Wiesler, a merciless Stasi officer who has doubts about the loyalty of a famous playwright (Sebastian Koch) and his wife Christa-Maria (Martina Gedeck) to the communist party. To say he spies on the artist couple is an understatement: in true Stasi fashion, he watches them day and night, listens in on their conservations, reads their mail, and watches them have sex. However, it turns out this was a tad too close, because Wiesler becomes increasingly absorbed in them and is forced to question his obedience as a Stasi officer. In his feature film debut, German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck delivers a quietly chilling melodrama on a topic that still affects the lives of many East Germans and was deserving of more attention. It is also a telling piece on the inhumane nature of totalitarianism and the humanity of individuals that are forced to live with it. A special film that will stay with you for a long time.
Comments
UP NEXT
UP NEXT
UP NEXT
More like this in
System Crasher (2019)
A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.
9.0
The Zone of Interest (2023)
A chilling and masterful display of the banality of evil
9.5
The Collini Case (2019)
A very satisfying German legal drama
7.6
No Dogs or Italians Allowed (2023)
Alain Ughetto remembers his family history in this charming, yet poignant animated drama
9.2
Things to Come (2016)
A beautiful, bittersweet portrait of resilience
8.5
A Bag of Marbles (2017)
Children are the heroes of this tender survival memoir
7.4
Toni Erdmann (2016)
7.9
Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)
7.7
Full Time (2021)
A gripping thriller about the Herculean task that is keeping a job
8.7
Sixty Minutes (2024)
A brisk and stylish German action thriller that keeps things short and to the point