Apr 06, 2008 03:43 AM
1477 Views
Don't get mislead by the poster, it's not your regular thriller with few steamy scenes. Instead this is a movie based on East Germany of 1984-1990. Before going into movie, first some historical ackground:
History
America and alliance along with Russia won the second world war. They decided to divide Berlin into two by famous Berlin wall: "East Berlin" and "west Berlin". East Berlin(former capital of east Germany) was the Russian sector whereas American, British and French sectors became West Berlin. West Germany progressed rapidly after second worldwar and became sound economy whereas East Germany stayed far behind due to their leftist-marxist approach.
East Germany government referred to as GDR(German Democratic Republic). Stasi is a secret police of East Germany responsible for political surveillance. At its peak Stasi monitored one third of East Germany population. After the Berlin Wall fell Stasi was disbanded and newly reunified government passed Stasi Record Law, which allowed former East German citizens to view their Stasi records.
*Story
*As told above, in East Germany before Berlin Wall fell, one third of population was closely monitored by State Secret Police(Stasi). Only few citizens were above suspicion, leading play-writer Dreyman was one of them. He had an actress-girlfriend CMS(Christa). A corrupt politician fall for Christa and ordered an ambitious Policeman to bug writer's apartment. Officer Wiesler was given the task to do close monitoring. Wiesler developed soft feeling for Dreyman and Christa and lied about them in his reports. Meanwhile, Dreyman alongwith his friends published an article which upset GDR and now they are behind Dreyman. For further details watch the movie.
*My View:
*The movie depicts real East Germany. At the same time, it explores many emotions of human nature. It nicely explores the relationship between Dreyman and Christa. It also nicely shows the journey of Wiesler from being a Stasi agent to a better human.
Performance by all the leading actor is noteworthy. It has a very powerful background score. Art direction is also good. However full credit must go to director and script writer. There is not a single dull movement in the film, movie runs at adequate pace. Even if you are not familiar with the historical background, you will understand what is happening. And ofcourse, movie is not at all predictable and at the same time realistic.
This movie won the Acadamy Award for "Best Foreign Language Film" in 2006. I watched this movie in German along with subtitles. Movie is so gripping that after few minutes, I didn't realize that I'm actually reading subtitles. This is a must-see. As timely as it is timeless.
*Quotes:
*"You know what Lenin said about Beethoven's'Appassionata'?"
"'If I keep listening to it, I won't finish the Revolution.' Can anyone who has heard this music, I mean really heard it, truly be a bad person?"
An innocent prisoner will become more angry by the hour due to the injustice suffered. He will shout and rage. A guilty prisoner becomes more calm and quiet. Or he cries. He knows he's there for a reason. The best way to establish guilt or innocence is non-stop interrogation.
[last lines]
Buchverkäufer: 29.80. Would you like it gift wrapped?
Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: No. It's for me.
nayan
