The Lives of Others

The winner of Best Foreign Language Film at the 2007 Academy Awards is a rich and intriguing political mystery.

Curiosity can be satisfying – and dangerous. Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler (the late Ulrich Muhe) is a member of the East German secret police in 1984. He’s been tasked to listen in and spy on a writer and his lover. What begins as a routine assignment turns into something more absorbing for Wiesler, and he soon realizes he gets in way over his head when things take sharp turns. Filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck weaves a spellbinding web of twists and terror in this psychological mystery boiling with tension.

Winner of the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, The Lives of Others took the world by storm. East Berlin has never been seen onscreen with as much historical precision, accuracy, and paranoia as von Donnersmarck has created. It’s a complex, absorbing, and altogether thrilling ride.