Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme

East Berlin, November 1984: Five years before its downfall, the former East-German government ensured its claim to power with a ruthless system of control and surveillance. Party-loyalist Captain Gerd...( read more  read more... ) Wiesler hopes to boost his career when given the job of collecting evidence against the playwright Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend, the celebrated theater actress Christa-Maria Sieland. After all, the "operation" is backed by the highest political circles. What he didn't anticipate, however, was that submerging oneself into the world of the target also changes the surveillance agent. The immersion in the lives of others--in love, literature, free thinking and speech--makes Wiesler acutely aware of the meagerness of his own existence and opens to him a completely new way of life, which he has ever more trouble resisting. But, the system, once started, cannot be stopped. A dangerous game has begun.

Flixster Users

96% liked it

99,131 ratings

Critics

93% liked it

146 critics

R, 2 hr. 17 min.

Directed by: Florian Henckel-Donnersmarck

Release Date: March 23, 2006

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DVD Release Date: August 21, 2007

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Stats: 11,962 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (11,962)


  • January 8, 2010
    Sure it's "East Berlin" before the wall came down, but it's 1984!

    Call me nieve but it really blew my mind that this type of thing was going on still at that late date. But I guess it's still going on (to some extent) in many countries.

    An interesting peek at the seedy ...( read more)underbelly that always seems to taint the otherwise idealistic fundamentals of Socialism and a gentle reminder of just how much we (Capitalists) took/take for granted.

    This was a really good story told in a very subtle (yet powerful) way, by an exceptional cast and director.

    Having said this...I still think that Pan's Labyrinth was the more (all around)impressive film (of that year) and more worthy of the Oscar win.
  • December 29, 2009
    The Lives Of Others is stunning! A film not to be missed, one of the best of 2006.
  • October 1, 2009
    A fantastic film! Easily the best I?ve seen in a long time. Everything about this film is sublime, its perfect! The ending has to be in my top 10 best of all time. Highly recommended!
  • July 1, 2009
    A brilliant movie. Who says people can't change?
  • May 31, 2009
    The greenish-hued images create the perfect mood for the film. The story is incredibly moving and the main cast is exceptional.
  • February 7, 2010
    Otra pelicula en la que muestran como llegaban a la confesion en el interrogatorio por medio de la tortura fisica y psiquica. Hay otra pelicula tambien alemana pero el contexto no es en la RDA sino en el Tercer Reich en la que muestran la tortura del interrogatorio psiquica mas i...( read more)nhumana, porque dan la esperanza de la libertad y juegan con ella. Sophie Scholl - Die letzen Tage el link de imdb.com es: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426578/
  • February 6, 2010
    The first hour is just painfully boring. This fact itself is a great downer for me. Nevertheless the second hour is ingenious.
  • February 5, 2010
    Good political thriller. The Lives of Others highlights the ruthless system of control and surveillance done by the East-German government in the early 80's. The story was intelligent and cleverly scripted, with great great characters and a rewarding ending. I thought all of the ...( read more)performances were excellent, as they all gave powerful portrayals to their complex characters, and the director was more than worthy of his best foreign language movie Oscar.
  • January 22, 2010
    it was fuckin boring, i don't know why it has all that As ratings!! the story was ok thu.
  • January 20, 2010
    fantastic film, fantastic ending, fantastic individual performance by ulrich muhe, absolutely deserved its oscar..

Critic Reviews


September 21, 2007
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The Lives of Others is a powerful but quiet film, constructed of hidden thoughts and secret desires. full review

July 11, 2007
Armond White, The New York Press

How surprising that a new German film would teach Americans about human faith at a time when acclaimed movies like Borat lack faith. full review

March 2, 2007
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

Its suspense builds on the fragile and nuanced business of emotional rebirth. full review

February 15, 2007
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

The exceptionally acted film, nominated for a foreign-language Oscar, is an incisive character study, a suspenseful paranoid thriller and a vivid recreation of recent history. full review

February 9, 2007
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Moving and deeply satisfying. full review

February 9, 2007
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

The Lives of Others is a supremely intelligent, unfailingly honest look at a shadowy period in recent German history.

February 5, 2007
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

A cunning piece of construction -- a Kafkaesque tearjerker, a tragic farce. full review

February 5, 2007
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

If there is any justice, this year's Academy Award for best foreign-language film will go to The Lives of Others, a movie about a world in which there is no justice. full review

January 25, 2007
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Von Donnersmarck has crafted the best kind of movie: one you can't get out of your head. full review

December 1, 2006
Pete Hammond, Maxim

A startling political thriller and the year's most urgent and important film, you owe it to yourself to see this beautifully written and directed movie. full review

View more Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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