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Drama, Thriller 137 min R
Rotten Tomatoes92%Metacritic89IMDb
Before the Fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's Secret Police Listened to Your Secrets.
In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.
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Meticulous, prestige, bleak and overwhelming.
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Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Taste Buds's numbers.
This isn't so much a thriller as a glaring example of the corrupting power of the state, and of those charged with crafting and implementing it's policies. "Dreyman" (Sebastian Koch) is an East German playwright who is popular with the communist elite because his works manage to extol the virtues of their people's republic. The minister "Hempf" (Thomas Thieme) goes through all the supportive motions with him, but meantime asks the Stasi to keep an eye on him. The very ambitious "Grubitz" (Ulrich Tukur) selects his meticulous colleague "Wiesler" (Ulrich Mühe) to manage the surveillance and off we go. What dawns on them very quickly is that they are being used by the politician to discredit the writer for an altogether different reason. He has designs on actress "Christa-Maria" (Martina Gedeck) who just happens to be the girlfriend of their new quarry. She has very reluctantly agreed to his advances in the past, but on the basis that resistance would be pretty futile as he is not a man to be crossed. If they needed proof of that, they just have to look at the ostracised "Jerska" (Volkmar Kleinart) who is now reduced to living in a glorified flat share and who cannot get any work. The
Read the whole review on TMDBGood guys facing tragic circumstances in an interesting period of history. Because you view the main characters lives from the perspective of the morally confused Stasi Officer investigating them, you receive more information than the characters have about their hopeless situation. This makes it all the more tragic to see the suffering they endure. Absolutely love this film. The only film so far to make my dad and I cry.
Read the whole review on TMDB20 years later, still one of the great movies of the century. An amazing realistic take on the last days of the failing East German state at a time when the lessons from its deserved demise are being forgotten and propaganda is trying to repaint it as greatness. Interesting script, great performances and direction, deep and multi-layered message. A must watch.
Read the whole review on TMDBChecking availability…
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“Is it the best drama film of its decade?”
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34 profiled raters. Loved most by The Provocateurs; disliked most by The Comfort Seekers.
If you loved this film, the television, the book, the music, the game.
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