Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- Martina GedeckChrista-Maria Sieland
- Ulrich MüheGerd Wiesler
- Sebastian KochGeorg Dreyman
- Ulrich TukurAnton Grubitz
- Thomas ThiemeBruno Hempf
- Hans-Uwe BauerPaul Hauser
- Volkmar KleinertAlbert Jerska
- Matthias BrennerKarl Wallner
- Charly HübnerUdo
- Herbert KnaupGregor Hessenstein
Recommendations
- 100
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. - 90
Los Angeles Times
It convincingly demonstrates that when done right, moral and political quandaries can be the most intensely dramatic dilemmas of all. - 90
Newsweek
It's hard to believe this is von Donnersmarck's first feature. His storytelling gifts have the novelistic richness of a seasoned master. The accelerating plot twists are more than just clever surprises; they reverberate with deep and painful ironies, creating both suspense and an emotional impact all the more powerful because it creeps up so quietly. - 90
New York Magazine (Vulture)
Ulrich Mühe gives a marvelously self-contained performance. There isn't an ounce of fat on his body, or in his acting: He has pared himself down to a pair of eyes that prowl the faces of his character's countrymen for signs of arrogance--i.e., of independent thinking. - 88
Rolling Stone
Von Donnersmarck has crafted the best kind of movie: one you can't get out of your head. - 88
ReelViews
With solid performances and a terrific screenplay, this movie offers solid, no-frills drama that feels organic and believable, not contrived. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Starts out dark and challenging then comes to a startlingly satisfying and warmly human conclusion that lingers long after the curtain has come down. - 80
Variety
Superbly cast drama… that looks to be a solid upscale attraction wherever the special chemistry of good writing and performances is appreciated.
