the lives of others (germany)

gninori · May 2, 2007

has anyone seen this movie?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/
one of the best for this season
it's complete in my opinion: subject and screenplay are iron-made
acting is very very good
there's drama, both historical and personal,
there's history with capital H meddling with common, or not so, lives
there's the irony of fate, cowardry and bold choices
totalitarism, kafkian bureaucracy playing with our destinies and paths
art inside the art of cinema: what's art, who's the artist, what are they useful for? why is a Stasi agent still moved by beethoven, despite his tasks of absolute control on other lives, and primarily on his own?
and there's unwarranted, unrewarded redemption at the end
with one of the best last lines of all times, crossing the boundary of ambiguity that marks the whole story
if you haven't yet, go see why that line represents a life, a life of a man in the film, and maybe the entire story-history of a vanquished-vanished state coming to terms with its past
"Es ist für mich." ("It's for me")

on a personal note, i spent a few more words on the actress, in another topic
http://www.rosebuttboard.com/index.php?showtopic=2433
words that i repeat here, because they talk of cinema anyway, how a cinema beautiful face is different from plastic beauty on catwalks, and because there is a question about a german movie i'd like to have answer to

Martina Gedeck
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0311476/
german actress, not very known out of germany i guess (i dont know about her fame in germany)
i know her because of the film "the lives of others" Das Leben der Anderen
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/
i (virtually) fell immediately in love with her
dark-haired. sensual, intriguing, mysterious, a full curvaceous body, boobs to die on (i saw them in a shower scene), a bit submissive, insecure but richly talented, fragile and courageous, a potent woman from a greek tragedy indeed. she has a mobile face, not perfect, multi-featured, with so many peculiar tracts you can't say whether she is beautiful or not (like french actresses isabelle huppert or sandrine bonnaire for example) in spite or because of this, she is altogether alluring and fascinating
i'm describing her character in the movie, that's what prompted me to her, i dont know her in real life of course
but yes i do like her (together with another german actress, who played in a 80's, 90's german minor film, in the movie this uknown actress was exiled in portugal or spain, with her husband, because they both were in the RAF (not the english one!) and fled from germany. at the end they are recognized, and are forced to move again towards another exile... i wish some german member could help me identify this movie and the actress)

some photos

IPB Image