Review of The Lives of Others

The story unravels nicely although a bit too slow for my taste. Yet I really like how the opening exposes the meticulous practice of the Stasi. The introduction of the characters Dreyman and Sieland is also nice, especially if, like me, you watch the movie without any prior knowledge toward this movie. The transition that Wiesler undergoes during the movie is portrayed nicely. This is even better because the movie uses less scene montages. The depiction of Grubitz's dangerous character through bits and pieces scattered along this movie is also nice. I like how Ulrich Muhe played the calm yet meticulous and then the affected version of Wiesler. Martina Gedeck also shows a good performance and went total on this movie. Sebastian Koch does well in completing this movie with his performance of quite an undecided character.