The Work:
Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)
The Artist(s):
Written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Starring Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Muhe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur
Description:
Critic: In the German Democratic Republic (GDR), no one is above the Party's scrutiny. Playwright Georg Dreymann (Sebastian Koch) and his actress/girlfriend Christa (Matina Gedeck) are successful East German artists who ultimately come under surveillance by the Stasi (the secret police) precisely because they are too good, too loyal, to be on the level. The “case”, such as it is, falls to Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), a steely eyed Stasi agent who takes a grim, almost religious pride, in his work. As Wiesler proceeds with his investigation, he becomes the only man who can save the playwright and the actress from torture and prison.
Purpose:
Critic: Oh, the joy! A foreign film! Granted, we had to go all the way to
Consumer: Watch it there, fan boy. You’re forgetting to review the movie.
Critic: What’s to review? It was wonderful.
Consumer: Okay, since he’s no use right now, I’ll try to explain the purpose of the film. It’s a spy thriller, I guess, because the secret police are trying to put this guy in prison, and he’s basically innocent.
Critic: Yes, but it’s also a meditation on what happens in a state where ideas become more important than the humanity which they’re supposed to serve. The result is a total loss of orientation. An, as Kundera might put it, “Unbearable Lightness of Being.” In this world, human values take a backseat to a kind of state-induced paranoia. Nobody can really trust anyone else and as a result, most of the characters in the movie have given way to despair and apathy. It seems only the playwright and his girlfriend have managed to hold onto some level of basic human goodness, and the movie ultimately organizes itself around this small bit of hope. So it’s a story, ultimately, about hope.
Consumer: (rolls eyes) He’s back.
What Works:
Consumer: The subtitles weren’t so annoying after a while. The popcorn was good. I think that’s all I can say. Wait, the playwright, Georg Dreymann, he was good at smoking. There were lots of scenes where he lit up a smoke and made it look cool.
Critic: The pace, the writing, the quick, well-constructed scenes all building to an inevitable climax, it all worked. There is one interrogation scene in particular, toward the end of the movie, when you are completely riveted but you no longer know what the outcome should be. You’ve come to sympathize with the antagonist, the protagonist, and just about every other character in the movie, so during this confrontation you have a delicious feeling of vertigo. In this way the movie literally takes you someplace you could not go on your own.
I like a movie that doesn’t try too hard, that doesn’t go for the cheap thrill. There are very few jump cuts or other directorial tricks. The story is the most important thing and here the story is pitch-perfect. Did I mention that the acting was wonderful?
You see this kind of movie and you think, “Why don’t they make more like it? Looks easy enough to do.” Ah, but to give the impression of ease is very difficult.
What Doesn’t Work:
Consumer: It was a long movie. Period. It was too long. I had to go back for more popcorn. And all the people in the movie were kind of ugly. Only the fat people got naked, which was disappointing. There was the fat hooker and the fat guy who pulled down his underwear. Who needs to see that? Even the female lead, Christa, she was kind of played-out looking. No real hotness here. And the buildings were all old and gray. And the clothes were bad.
Critic: I’d say the conclusion didn’t succeed. It was overly long and worked to tie up every last thread of the plot. There were several spots in the third act that would have made good stopping points, but the movie rolled on to its final conclusion. In that way, the theme of the movie became more important than the story. Always a mistake.
The Verdict:
Critic: Are you kidding? If you get the chance, don’t hesitate. It's not a great movie but it's very good.
Consumer: Are you kidding? Those subtitles are the worst. I don’t go to the movies to read. If I wanted to read I’d open a book.
Critic: A comic book.
1 comment:
The grass is always cheaper on the other side. The East Germans just wanted to be like us: to have things, material wealth, cars that would take them farther than a three-cylinder Trabant. They screamed out the wrong lyrics to our pop songs like anthems to their quest. Yet they were totally dumbfounded when water meters appeared in Dresden shortly before their money changed. Why would you want to know how much water you use, they asked. They had no idea that only air is free.
In a flawed world, who can blame the Secret Police for looking into other people’s lives, especially people who seem to be having really good lives? The Secret Police just wanted what everyone else wanted: they wanted what works. Who can blame them for being a little curious? Besides, they are a force, an authority, capable of taking what works, what is good, and equalizing it among the population. Where is the harm in that? When are we going to have a film sympathetic to sniff searches, when?
Critic: You didn’t actually see the film, did you?
Yeah, but I also didn’t drive nine hundred miles wearing an adult diaper just to enjoy some popcorn.
Post a Comment