― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 11:20 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Real Dirty Vicar, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 11:38 (seventeen years ago) link
― That one guy that quit, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 12:15 (seventeen years ago) link
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:08 (seventeen years ago) link
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:22 (seventeen years ago) link
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:24 (seventeen years ago) link
― kv_nol, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:35 (seventeen years ago) link
― gff, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:39 (seventeen years ago) link
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:45 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alba, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 14:00 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 14:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 14:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 14:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― Not the real Village People, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 14:56 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 14:58 (seventeen years ago) link
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 15:01 (seventeen years ago) link
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 15:02 (seventeen years ago) link
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 15:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 15:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Real Dirty Vicar, Friday, 27 April 2007 17:25 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 27 April 2007 17:42 (seventeen years ago) link
― gff, Friday, 27 April 2007 17:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 27 April 2007 17:49 (seventeen years ago) link
Ulrich Muehe RIP
(the guy who played Wiesler)
― rener, Wednesday, 25 July 2007 14:11 (sixteen years ago) link
"a bit schmaltzy," you bet.
If only more playwrights and actresses had introduced Stasi loners to Brecht, the Wall woulda been down in 1970.
― Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 16:48 (sixteen years ago) link
I thought the movie was schmaltzy but still surprisingly effective, this mostly due to the central performance. Liked it much better than the highly-regarded domestic (American) melodramas I've seen recently: Mystic River blah blah.
I don't buy either of these absolutist, omniscient critiques, though:
the Stasi officer Wiesler helping Dreymann is such utter nonsense that it ruins the whole movie. It would never happen that some one with over 20 years of continuous indoctrination by the Stasi would help a mortal enemy of the State
-- Tracer
(Imagining that Weixler could exist) betrays ... a misunderstanding of the nature of totalitarianism in general, and the Stasi specifically. No Stasi agent would have been able to keep a secret like that, because everything was rigorously cross-checked and verified. No Stasi agent would have been on control of an entire investigation, from surveillance to interrogation, the way Weisler was.
-- Alfred
The world isn't sufficiently well-regulated to allow that kind of absolute & total certainty. Not even the world of the Stasi. It's always at least possible that human decision-making and/or fallibility could alter the program. There's always a corner here or there where something happens differently, for some unforseen reason. And it's always possible that a seemingly well-indoctrinated man might experience a change of heart even without the agency of "a death, an assault, an an acid trip."
But, yeah, the ending was kinda corny.
― contenderizer, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:16 (sixteen years ago) link
it's a total melodrama. nothing wrong with that.
― s1ocki, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:17 (sixteen years ago) link
and the criticism that this could never happen is just silly. no one ever defected? no one ever passed secrets to the americans? give me 1 break. or in other words, what contenderizer said.
― s1ocki, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:18 (sixteen years ago) link
i mean if you're going to deny even the remotest possibility of change in a human being i don't really see how you can buy any sort of drama.
xp: A totally unpersuasive one. Hollywood remake coming soon! really!
If you'd like to see the lead actress in a good, offbeat thriller: Summer '04
― Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:19 (sixteen years ago) link
Oh yeah.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:20 (sixteen years ago) link
how are they gonna do a h'wood remake??
― s1ocki, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:20 (sixteen years ago) link
the lives of other others
― gff, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:21 (sixteen years ago) link
takes place under the shadow of the wall between virginia and west virginia
― gff, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:22 (sixteen years ago) link
lol at early "Spacey" posts, he can play the lead. I think Sydney Pollack bought the rights.
― Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:22 (sixteen years ago) link
(tho may not live to make it)
it's always possible that a seemingly well-indoctrinated man might experience a change of heart even without the agency of "a death, an assault, an an acid trip."
Not this particular man in this film.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:22 (sixteen years ago) link
http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/01/weinsteins-to-remake-the-lives-of-others/
― Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:23 (sixteen years ago) link
what does that mean? is he like your BFF or something? xp
― s1ocki, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:24 (sixteen years ago) link
WORKS OF DRAMA IN NOT ENTIRELY REALISTIC SHOCKER.
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:24 (sixteen years ago) link
critics using generalizations to explain reactions shockah
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:25 (sixteen years ago) link
like you're not generalizing!
― s1ocki, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:25 (sixteen years ago) link
The problem is it's sledgehammer-obvious. "You'll be steaming open envelopes..." CUT TO STEAMING OPEN ENVELOPES.
― Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:26 (sixteen years ago) link
oh wait. i misread that. xp
― s1ocki, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:26 (sixteen years ago) link
morbs that gag worked because the kid who told a risky joke years ago is sitting there with him
― gff, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:26 (sixteen years ago) link
Who was this Stasi and what did it want?
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:27 (sixteen years ago) link
gff, I recognized the 'joke' and didn't laugh
― Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:27 (sixteen years ago) link
well it wasn't supposed to be funny, so kudos
― gff, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:28 (sixteen years ago) link
it's pretty good, looks really nice, and obv the historical setting is fascinating. but maybe leave 10 mins before the end if you don't like schmaltz :)
― jabba hands, Wednesday, 9 December 2009 09:57 (fourteen years ago) link
haha - not sure how the people I would be seeing it with would take it. I'll tell them I need to make some stock trades
― 囧 (dyao), Wednesday, 9 December 2009 09:59 (fourteen years ago) link
yes it's good. leave when they stop steaming envelopes because maybe you are allergic to envelopes.
― wmlynch, Wednesday, 9 December 2009 18:46 (fourteen years ago) link
i liked this a lot, saw it in the cinema and really loved it until the end, which is pretty shit. But apart from that enjoyable.
― Pedro Paramore (jim), Wednesday, 9 December 2009 18:48 (fourteen years ago) link