The Lives of Others

The Lives of Others won best Foreign Language film at the Independent Spirit Awards, the LA Film Critics Association, and the Oscar, as well as many European festivals' Best Film. I saw it yesterday as a sort of film prophylactic to get through the Oscars... Too bad it wasn't released sooner so that more people could have seen it - I think it's only been released in major cities, a shame because complex, adult, layered stories are so rare. It would have been a welcome alternative to some of the dreck released at the holidays.

It's very similar to Pan's Labyrinth, in style of cinematography, its unpredictability, and in having fascist characters attempting to control the lives of others. While PL did basically tell a straightforward story as a framing device, fantasy is not everyone's cup of tea. And the metaphors the various creatures and their actions implied would be lost on those who may not have heard of say, Pan. The Lives of Others depicts the outcome of an experiment in governmental control in a straightforward way and in a setting that most people are familiar with - East Berlin prior to the fall of the wall.

The film reminds me of 70s films such as The Conversation, where there is a sort of doomed air during the entire feature, and you are riveted by the ambience and the acting. The film was entirely unpredictable, and had a tension one only gets with good horror, because you had no idea how heinously the characters would behave - both those pursuing enemies of the state, and those perceived as the enemies. It was also weirdly sentimental, but not in an overly saccharine way. It's sort of a thriller and love story combined.

Unlike Pan, it would be a fine rental - not a lot would be lost in moving to the small screen. So go see Pan if it's still playing near you, but don't forget The Lives of Others...