Classics: A Review of The Lives of Others By Lauren Ennis

Over the course of several months we have been separated from one another physically, emotionally, and ideologically, all with the promise that by doing so we are ensuring that we will ultimately be reunited. Even as we continue to be isolated from one another, however, government has become all too present in our lives. Few can appreciate the current paradox created by the restrictions of social distancing, the censorship of big tech companies, and the normalization of Marxism as fully as those who experienced life behind the Iron Curtain. The 2006 political drama The Lives of Others offers a devastating reflection upon the oppression of the German Democratic Republic and a dire warning for the future.

I always feel like somebody's watching me...

The story begins in 1984 East Berlin as Stasi officer Gerd Weisler teaches recruits how to interrogate a suspect. After finishing his lesson he is approached by a colleague with an assignment to collect information on playwright Georg Dreyman. The assignment intrigues Weisel, who is excited by the challenge of spying on a famous and seemingly incorruptible subject. As his work carries on, however, Weisel's once iron-clad faith in the GDR is shattered when he learns that the assignment is really a means with which prominent party member Minister Hempf (Thomas Thieme) hopes to eliminate Dreyman in order to pursue Dreyman's actress lover, Christa-Maria Seiland (Martina Gedeck). With each new revelation of the true nature of the Stasi's surveillance, Weisel becomes convinced that the only way to maintain the ideals he has devoted his life to is to sabotage the efforts of the very establishment that he once believed personified them.

In the months since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic citizens around the globe have been subjected to government imposed isolation, censorship, and restrictions that would be all too familiar to the film's characters. As the threat of the virus begins to fade with the distribution of vaccines a new threat has emerged in the US which has led to even greater calls for government intervention; public dissent. In the wake of the disputed 2020 US election and Capitol Hill riot big tech and mainstream media have begun a campaign to designate those who question either the election or the actions of the incoming administration as domestic terror threats. Even in the midst of pleas for national unity the call has arisen for 'citizen detectives' to monitor and report upon their fellow citizens just as the citizens of the GDR were forced to report on their friends and neighbors. In an even more troubling development government officials have expressed their plans to utilize law enforcement and national security agencies in their efforts to quell dissent in a modern day replication of the Stasi. Such measures may foster fear, paranoia, and conformity, but are destined to inspire only further division. The film showcases the ways in which the Stasi's surveillance was all too often abused for personal gain and weaponized against even the most loyal of citizens. Should this administration follow the repressive example of the GDR similar abuses are certain to follow, just as they did under the NSA's global surveillance program. At one point in the film Weisel notes, "socialism has to start somewhere"; it is our duty as as Americans to ensure that it does not start here and now.

You can't write this stuff

The superb work of the film's cast transports viewers into the the bleak heart of the Soviet bloc. Ulrich Muhe is truly dynamic in his turn as Gerd Weisel, as he allows the audience to witness his character's transformation from dedicated tool of the state to jaded subversive. Sebastian Koch portrays conflicted playwright Georg Dreyman with a humor, intelligence, and idealism that makes his plight all the more resonant. Martina Gedeck expertly rounds out the central cast in her haunting performance as tormented actress Christa-Maria Seiland. Ulrich Tukur and Thomas Thieme lend excellent support as Weisel's Stasi colleague, Grubitz, and ruthless Minister Hempf, and infuse their performances with an ideal balance of entitlement, sleaze, and menace.

This historical drama has become more relevant with each passing year as our present increasingly mirrors one of the most harrowing eras of the recent past. The intelligent script and nuanced performances brilliantly relate a wrenching tale of duty, love, betrayal, and sacrifice that is as powerful today as it would have been in the midst of the Cold War. For a glimpse into a 1984 that is even more chilling than anything George Orwell could write, look no further than The Lives of Others.

Every breath you take, every move you make, we'll be watching you