IMDb top 250: #54
Rating: 8/10
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Writers: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Starring: Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Tukur & Thomas Thieme
"We are the Shield and Sword of the Party"
Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler (Mühe) is a master interrogator, assigned an operation to spy on playwright Georg Dreyman (Kock) who lives with his actress partner Christa-Maria Sieland Gedeck), as they are believed to be potential enemies of the GDR regime. The film is set in 1984 focusing on the activities of the Stasi, the German Democratic Republic secret police who are blacklisting artists who go "too far" against the socialist regime in their work. Whilst Georg is visiting his blacklisted friend Jerska, a theatrical director, Wiesler and his team bug his apartment and using an abandoned space on the top floor of the apartment block Wiesler, who lives for his job and the Republic, spends several months listening to his subjects and begins to open his mind to a new way of thinking and changes his views on his known way of life.
I really didn't know what to expect with this film. I must admit I'm not all that familiar with the GDR and the Stasi operations and I had to pause the movie half way through to go on my iPad and do some research. I thought the movie was going to be an all out thriller in the vein of Baader Meinhof Complex, which I loved, but it was a bit slower paced and more intimate focusing more on a smaller operation against the backdrop of politics and art. The movie is beautifully filmed and von Donnersmarck allows the camera to take in so much to give the viewer more insight into the characters. I particularly love the scene where the camera stops on Wielser showing his turning point in the movie, where that tear falls down his face as Dreyman plays Beethoven's "Appassionata".
The two male leads in the movie Wiesler and Dreyman are played exceptionally by Ulrich Mühe & Sebastian Kock. The two men couldn't be anymore different, Dreyman is charming and has a bohemian, well read feel to him, whilst Wiesler is staid and grey and by the book. Their differences can be seen in their lives too, from the look of their apartments to the type of company they keep. Mühe is particularly good and goes through every type of emotion beautifully.
Martina Gedeck's performance as Christa-Maria is equally as impressive as the lead actors, however I was so distracted every time she was topless; she was having to strategically move her arms to cover her nipples. Ulrich Tukur & Thomas Thieme make for excellent villains who are eager for power. The film has some incredibly tense moments and you will be upright during these moments, von Donnersmarck executes these scenes really well. There are plenty of twists and even a few "I never saw that coming" moments too. The movie has a lot of dialogue and therefore a lot of subtitles and the dialogue is important so if you don't speak or understand German you will need to have your brain switched on. This is a superb directorial debut from von Donnersmarck.
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