Das Leben der Anderen

Germany

Synopsis

East Berlin, November 1984. Five years before its downfall, the former East-German government (DDR) ensured its claim to power with a ruthless system of control and surveillance. Party-loyalist Captain Gerd 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...
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Written by: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Produced by: Quirin Berg, Max Wiedemann

Cinematography: Hagen Bogdanski (b.v.k.)

Original Score: Gabriel Yared, Stéphane Moucha

Actor: Martina Gedeck (Christa Maria Sieland), Ulrich Mühe (Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler), Sebastian Koch (Georg Dreyman)

Nominations and Awards

  • European Film 2006
  • European Actor 2006
  • European Screenwriter 2006
  • European Director 2006
  • European Actress 2006
  • European Composer 2006
  • Feature Film Selection 2006