The Lives of Others

Months ago I found a list of the 5 best conservative movies.  The number one movie on this list was "The Lives of Others", produced in the German language, this movie's title is "Das Leben der Anderen", was released in 2006. 
Written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, this movie is the successful first full feature length of his repertoire.  A complete sucess it was, winning the 2007 Won Oscar Best Foreign Language Film of the Year.
The movie is rated R for some sexuality and nudity, this is minor in nature. Language is not an issue because you understand the language anyway.
The players are all German, and even with the subtitles completely convey depression the is the result of an oppressive socialist system.

• Martina Gedeck plays Christa-Maria Sieland the most highly regarded actress on the East German stage.
• Ulrich Mühe play Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler, the Stasi operative, expert in interrogation and focal point of the movies transformation.
• Sebastian Koch plays Georg Dreyman, Christa's lover and writer of popular East German plays.
• Ulrich Tukur plays Oberstleutnant Anton Grubitz, Wiesler's superior and politcal animal.
• Thomas Thieme plays Minister Bruno Hempf , the politcal heavy of the movie.
• Hans-Uwe Bauer plays Paul Hauser, one of Georg Dreyman's writing associates.
• Volkmar Kleinert plays Albert Jerska, Georg Dreyman's good friend who has been blacklisted. 

The plot.

Set in the East Berlin of 1984, a couple of years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's Stasi (secret police) had established complete dominance by way spying on its own citizens through direct observation and by informants supplying the rest.  The result was an atmosphere of oppression and fear.

Because Minister Bruno Hempf  wants to exclusively date Christa, he orders the surveillance of the couple.

Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler is an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on playwright, Georg Dreyman, and his lover Christa, he finds himself becoming increasingly enthralled by what can only be desribed as their expression of soul.

Hauptmann's code name HGW XX/7.

When Georg's good friend, Albert Jerska, a director who has been blacklisted, commits suicide, Georg is transformed and wishes to express his feeling about repression and suicide.  This cannot be done in East Germany, so he collaborates to smuggle his papers to West Germany.  These are anonomously published in the magazine Der Speilgel.

HGW XX/7 overhears all of the collboration, and within his own evolution, decides to obscure the findings to his superiors.  Pressured by the Minister tangential inquiries are made as to the author of the essays on East German suicide.  Christa is arrested for purchasing illegal prescriptions, by this forced to inform on the location of Georg's hidden typewriter.  The Stasi arrive at Georg's apartment, search for but cannot find the instrument.  Humiliated Christa leaves the apartment and walks in front of an oncoming truck, suicide.

Wiesler's superior suspects his man's interference and demotes him to the rest of his career steaming open letters in a basement.  Years later toiling in a basement, he hears that the Berlin Wall has fallen, he gets up and leaves the basement, forever.

Two years later Georg is enjoying a play in Berlin and happens upon the minister.  Georg asks the minister why he was never surveilled. Former Minister Hempf tells the playwright that he was, just check for wires in the light switches.  Georg then finds bugs all over his apartment.  This leads Georg to study newly public records of Stasi . He finds copious records and realizes that there were only a few moments between Christa's betrayal and the Stasi search, somebody besides Christa must have moved the typewriter.  Reading further he detemines that agent HGW XX/7 did not report the collaboration meetings and must have been the the one who hid the typewriter. Dreyman then searches for and finds Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler, who is now a mailman, but decides not to speak with him.

A couple of years after Dreyman has authored a book "Sonata for a Good Man", Wiesler on deliveries sees Dreyman's picture in the bookstore window. Goes in the book store, finds the new release and in the dedication sees thanks to HGW XX/7.  The mailman goes to the counter to purcahse a copy and when asked if the book needs to be wrapped says "it is for me" in English.

I give this movie a rating of 48 of 50. Awesome.

• Character Development, 10 of 10. Wiesler evolves from an autocrat to a soulful libertarian.
• Screenplay, 9 of 10. Difficult to assess, translated from German, the content was top notch.
• Acting, 10 of 10. German cast of experienced actors, some of whom were East German and had personal experience with the Stasi.
• Photography, 9 of 10. Filmed in Berlin using a dull blue and gray pallet. 
• Plot, 10 of 10.

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