5. The Lives Of Others
East Germany, 1984. Stasi captain Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) is ordered to eavesdrop on the pro-Communist playwright Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend. As he listens in from a nearby attic, he transcribes every word with a detached sense of duty. When the conversation dies down, Wiesler simply notes that they 'presumably have intercourse'. There's much for him to envy in his these alleged enemies of the state. Their anarchic creativity kicks against the cold, grey concrete of Berlin's old guard. He may have the couple in his clutches but we know better than to paint Wiesler as the villain of the piece. Historical sensitivity prevents the politics from being so clear-cut. Like Harry Caul, Wiesler soon finds himself torn between hunter and prey when his employer's true intentions are revealed. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's study of surveillance reminds you of a time when the walls, or rather Wall, really did have ears.