AKA: Others' Life/Eavesdropping Storm
Country/Region: Germany
Genre : Drama
Director: Florian Henkel von Donnersmark
Screenwriter : Florian Hen Kerr von Donnersmarck
Starring : Martina Godette, Sebastian Kauch, Ulrich Mueer
Rating: R
Duration: 137 minutes
Released : March 23, 2006
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10 (1,758 votes)
Won: 2006 German National Film Award "Golden Lola Award" Best Film and other 7 awards
Recommendation Index: ★★★★
Eavesdropping Storm
Remember when paying attention to this year's Berlin Film Festival, I was deeply impressed by the film. At that time, I read the report that the director of this film had been eavesdropped during the East German period, and was even informed by his wife just like in the film. Maybe it was his personal experience. Florian was able to produce such an excellent work.
In fact, I don't like works of this kind of political theme. About the history of East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall, I have seen it from the perspective of ordinary mothers and their sons in "Goodbye Lenin". Therefore, the subversion of ideology, the questioning of values, the disintegration of beliefs, and the fragility and struggle of people in the face of these historical backgrounds are not what I should pay attention to when watching this film.
What attracted me to watch the film was the lack of freedom of people under the totalitarian regime, the hypocrisy and ugliness of the fragile regime, and the warmth of kindness and humanity in the cold years...
the sonata of a good man.
Wiesler is an excellent eavesdropping agent and interrogator. He is cold on the outside and lonely on the inside. He can only fill his loneliness by hiring prostitutes, and even prostitutes can't comfort him. Wiesler is a typical representative of the ordinary officials of the GDR government, with a kind heart, but in such a domineering and impersonal political environment, his resolute face hides the hesitation and melancholy in his heart.
The task this time is to eavesdrop on the playwright Dreamman and his beautiful actress wife. Dreayman has a free and easy personality, a rich life, and has a large number of friends in the literary and art circles and a confidante. The lives of the two people are a stark contrast. Wiesler, who lacks caring, is gradually moved by the sincerity and warmth of Dreamman's family in the process of eavesdropping on Dreamman, and gradually assimilated by Dreamman's real democratic ideals, and begins to doubt his allegiance to the government. And the system...
In the end, Wiesler secretly helped Dreamman complete the "reactionary" play and escape the pursuit. Unfortunately, Dreamman's wife committed suicide because she couldn't face Dreamman after the whistleblower. For the rest of the year, Wiesler was dispatched to the envelope-finding department, and Dreamman was unhappy with the unforgettable loss of his wife. Until one day after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dreamman found out the fact that there was an eavesdropping agent codenamed HGW XX/7 who helped him secretly, and understood all the truth about why he was able to escape the disaster.
I believe all those who saw the last scene. The audience will be undeniably excited. Wiesler saw a promotional poster for Dreamman's new book at the door of a bookstore. He stopped and walked in. After turning over a page, it said "In honor of HGW XX/7." Wiesler bought a copy, and the salesperson asked if he wanted to wrap it up and give it to others. He said, "No, I'll give it to myself." That excitement came from the only smile on Wiesler's face, from the mutual sympathy and mutual recognition of the two men, from the fact that Wiesler's life is no longer lonely and lonely. This is not only a relief for the protagonist of the film and the audience, but also a tribute to the kindness of humanity in the suffering years.
The title of Dreamman's new book is: Sonata of a Good Man.
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