Starts out dark and challenging then comes to a startlingly satisfying and warmly human conclusion that lingers long after the curtain has come down.
The Lives of Others(Das Leben der Anderen)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Germany · 2006
Rated R · 2h 17m
Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Starring Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur
Genre Drama, Thriller
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
A tragic love story set in East Berlin during the height of Stasi control. Stasi captain Wiesler is ordered to follow potentially dangerous author Dreyman and his lover, Christa-Maria. His surveillance leads him to become more and more absorbed in the couple's life, which in turn causes him to question the system.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The New Yorker by Anthony Lane
If there is any justice, this year's Academy Award for best foreign-language film will go to The Lives of Others, a movie about a world in which there is no justice.
It's hard to believe this is von Donnersmarck's first feature. His storytelling gifts have the novelistic richness of a seasoned master. The accelerating plot twists are more than just clever surprises; they reverberate with deep and painful ironies, creating both suspense and an emotional impact all the more powerful because it creeps up so quietly.
New York Magazine (Vulture) by David Edelstein
Ulrich Mühe gives a marvelously self-contained performance. There isn't an ounce of fat on his body, or in his acting: He has pared himself down to a pair of eyes that prowl the faces of his character's countrymen for signs of arrogance--i.e., of independent thinking.
Superbly cast drama… that looks to be a solid upscale attraction wherever the special chemistry of good writing and performances is appreciated.
A compelling thriller but an unsatisfying character drama.
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
With solid performances and a terrific screenplay, this movie offers solid, no-frills drama that feels organic and believable, not contrived.
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
It convincingly demonstrates that when done right, moral and political quandaries can be the most intensely dramatic dilemmas of all.
Rolling Stone by Peter Travers
Von Donnersmarck has crafted the best kind of movie: one you can't get out of your head.
The Lives of Others wants us to see that the Stasi -- at least some of them -- were, like their Gestapo brethren, “just following orders." You can call that naive optimism on Donnersmarck's part, or historical revisionism of the sort duly lambasted by the current film version of Alan Bennett's "The History Boys." I, for one, tremble at the thought of what this young director does for an encore.
Users who liked this film also liked
Run Lola Run
(Lola rennt)
Every second of every day, you're faced with a decision that can change your life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 1998
- Director Tom Tykwer
- Cast Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri, Armin Rohde, Joachim Król
- Genre Action, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, AMC on Demand
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
(봄 여름 가을 겨울 그리고 봄)
What you like, others will also like.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea, Germany • 2003
- Director Kim Ki-duk
- Cast Kim Ki-duk, Kim Young-min, Ha Yeo-jin, Oh Yeong-su, Seo Jae-kyeong, Kim Jong-ho
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The Wages of Fear
(Le Salaire de la peur)
A rivalry develops between the two sets of drivers on remote roads where the slightest jolt can be deadly.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1953
- Director Henri-Georges Clouzot
- Cast Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Folco Lulli, Véra Clouzot, Antonio Centa
- Genre Drama, Thriller, Adventure
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Kanopy
Good Bye, Lenin!
The German Democratic Republic lives on -- in 79 square meters!
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2003
- Director Wolfgang Becker
- Cast Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sass, Chulpan Khamatova, Maria Simon, Florian Lukas, Alexander Beyer
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Downfall
(Der Untergang)
April 1945, a nation awaits its... Downfall
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Austria, Italy • 2004
- Director Oliver Hirschbiegel
- Cast Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch
- Genre Drama, History, War
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Hoopla, Shout! Factory TV, Plex, Plex Channel
La Jetée
The story of a post-nuclear war experiment with time travel, constructed almost entirely from still photos.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1962
- Director Chris Marker
- Cast Jean Négroni, Hélène Chatelain, Davos Hanich, Jacques Ledoux, André Heinrich, Jacques Branchu
- Genre Romance, Science Fiction
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Pickpocket
Despite the dangers and objections of those around him, Michel embarks on a journey of improving his pickpocketing craft.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1959
- Director Robert Bresson
- Cast Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Jean Pélégri, Dolly Scal, Pierre Leymarie, Pierre Étaix
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
A wacky take on the adventures of the legendary King Arthur.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1975
- Director Terry Jones
- Cast Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
- Genre Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Nuclear war breaks out when a rogue general orders a strike on the U.S.S.R., and it's up to the government to try to avert the end of the world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 1964
- Director Stanley Kubrick
- Cast Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, Peter Bull
- Genre Comedy, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
The Third Man
Hunted by men ... Sought by WOMEN!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1949
- Director Carol Reed
- Cast Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Bernard Lee, Paul Hörbiger
- Genre Thriller, Mystery
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, IndieFlix, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Tubi TV
Lammbock
In this German stoner comedy, two friends decide to use their pizza delivery service as a front to sell marijuana.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2001
- Director Christian Zübert
- Cast Lucas Gregorowicz, Moritz Bleibtreu, Marie Zielcke, Julian Weigend, Alexandra Schalaudek, Elmar Wepper
- Genre Comedy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Layer Cake
A young drug dealer is tasked with finding a rich man's daughter.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2004
- Director Matthew Vaughn
- Cast Daniel Craig, Tom Hardy, Colm Meaney, George Harris, Sally Hawkins, Kenneth Cranham
- Genre Drama, Thriller, Crime
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
Hiroshima Mon Amour
(Hiroshima mon amour)
The story of a young French actress and her affair with a Japanese man while on assignment in Hiroshima.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Japan • 1959
- Director Alain Resnais
- Cast Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud, Bernard Fresson
- Genre Drama, History, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
The Wave
(Die Welle)
A high school teacher's unorthodox lesson on autocracy spirals out of control and causes students to turn against one another.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, France • 2008
- Director Dennis Gansel
- Cast Jürgen Vogel, Frederick Lau, Max Riemelt, Jennifer Ulrich, Christiane Paul, Elyas M'Barek
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, The Roku Channel
Cinema Paradiso
(Nuovo Cinema Paradiso)
A celebration of youth, friendship, and the everlasting magic of the movies.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1988
- Director Giuseppe Tornatore
- Cast Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Marco Leonardi, Salvatore Cascio, Agnese Nano, Antonella Attili
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, fuboTV, Epix Amazon Channel, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Departures
(おくりびと)
An out-of-work cellist unknowingly accepts a job offer to prepare dead bodies for their funerals.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2008
- Director Yojiro Takita
- Cast Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Kimiko Yo, Takashi Sasano
- Genre Drama
- Available on Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Plex, Plex Channel
The Secret in Their Eyes
(El secreto de sus ojos)
A retired legal counsellor uses an unresolved case from his career as inspiration for his novel, but revisiting the past can be dangerous.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Argentina, Spain • 2009
- Director Juan José Campanella
- Cast Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, Guillermo Francella, Carla Quevedo
- Genre Crime, Drama, Mystery
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Fandango At Home, AMC on Demand
Polisse
How do the cops of the Police Department's Juvenile Protection Unit balance their private lives and the reality they confront every working day? Fred, the group's hypersensitive wild card, is going to have a hard time facing the scrutiny of Melissa, a photographer on a Ministry of the Interior assignment to document the unit.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2011
- Director Maïwenn
- Cast Frédéric Pierrot, Joey Starr, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Karin Viard, Naidra Ayadi, Karole Rocher
- Genre Drama
- Available on AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
A Coffee in Berlin
(Oh Boy)
An aimless college dropout struggles to engage with life — though life doesn’t seem to be evading him.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2012
- Director Jan Ole Gerster
- Cast Tom Schilling, Marc Hosemann, Friederike Kempter, Justus von Dohnányi, Katharina Schüttler, Arnd Klawitter
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on fuboTV, OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Crackle, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Though the setting of divided Germany is important, it's the film's characters that really made me enjoy this film. Not only were the characters complex and sympathetic, but they felt believable and real. Humanizing a Stasi officer seems like a tough task, but Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck does a great job. Though this film certainly has its dark and uncomfortable moments, this film is surprisingly human and compassionate. One of my favorite period dramas about East Berlin.