"The Lives of Others"

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  • "The Lives of Others"

    I just wanted to recommend this premier feature of a director I'm sure has an amazing career ahead of him. It's a film about loyalty and betrayal, art and deception, set in the years just before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

    Contained within the margins of a thriller, it plays out as a character study of people caught in a system designed to squeeze the life and soul out of them. Beautifully-acted, economically-written, it ranks for me in the top four or five movies I've seen these past eight months. And it's been nominated for an Oscar.

  • #2
    Re: "The Lives of Others"

    I'll second this. Excellent flick.
    http://confoundedfilms.com

    http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

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    • #3
      Re: "The Lives of Others"

      It's interesting to note that the actor Ulrich Mühe, who played the Man Who Listens--the Stasi officer, discovered, after the Wall fell and Stasi records were released to the public, that his own wife was spying on him and other actors.

      This is a film that cuts very close to the bone, indeed.

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      • #4
        Re: "The Lives of Others"

        Hey you guys, spoiler alerts!

        It doesn't open here until Friday. It's a shame they don't make movies like this anymore.

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        • #5
          Re: "The Lives of Others"

          Nope, not a spoiler, just a fact about the actor, which will enrich your viewing experience tenfold, I'm sure! And remember that this is the director's first feature.

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          • #6
            Re: "The Lives of Others"

            After Pan's Labyrinth won 3 technical Oscars I was shocked that The Lives of Others won Best Foreign Language Film. It was certainly deserving, but the evening seemed to be tilting Pan's way.
            http://confoundedfilms.com

            http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: "The Lives of Others"

              In order to be eligible to vote for Best Foreign Film, an Academy member must attend screenings of all five nominated foreign films.
              Because of this, I wasn't surprised that The Lives Of Others won best foreign film. It was truly extraordinary, deeply moving, and definitely the best film I saw all year -- and that includes the Best Picture category nominees.

              Late Night Writer

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              • #8
                Re: "The Lives of Others"

                Oh, I loved all 3 foreign nominations I saw, but given Pan's success in the other categories and it's record breaking box office draw (for a Spanish language film) and everything else, I thought it had a great shot at this prize. I preferred it to The Lives of Others, but I prefer magical to realist storytelling so that's my bias.
                http://confoundedfilms.com

                http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: "The Lives of Others"

                  For those interested in reading a real-life dissident's response to the film, here's an interesting article from Die Welt, translated into English.

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                  • #10
                    Re: "The Lives of Others"

                    Originally posted by Jake Schuster View Post
                    For those interested in reading a real-life dissident's response to the film, here's an interesting article from Die Welt, translated into English.
                    Got a link?

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                    • #11
                      Re: "The Lives of Others"

                      Whoops! Forgot. Here it is: http://www.signandsight.com/features/682.html

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                      • #12
                        Re: "The Lives of Others"

                        Fantastic article, Jake.

                        I've got little to add except that the production designer, himself having lived in the GDR, insisted on using authentic equipment in the film borrowed from museums rather than creating his own, because he didn't want anyone to watch the movie and say, "It wasn't like that."

                        This really is a masterpiece from a first time director.
                        http://confoundedfilms.com

                        http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: "The Lives of Others"

                          Yes, I saw that, Harry.

                          "Zodiac" was also amazingly authentic, right down to those bloody pastel Princess phones of the day. The only slip-up I saw--and I may well be wrong, though there were no scanners or even computers in daily use in those days--was a bar-code printed on the back of a book.

                          Your comment reminds me of what Kubrick did in "Barry Lyndon", in having the actors wear authentic undergarments, though most were never seen in them.

                          "The Lives of Others" really is a masterpiece among others from abroad such as "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Children of Men".

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