Writer: Cammy Zulkifli

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Watch this if you liked: "Lust, Caution"

In 1984, the former East Germany was controlled by the most sophisticated secret police the world has ever seen, called the Stasi. Cunning and acutely stealthy in operation, the Stasi consists of several thousand employees, plus thousands more 'unofficial recruits' hired to keep watch over their own neighbours, bosses and even friends. One recruit happens to be Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), who collaborated with the Stasi to spy on an East German playwright named Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and his girlfriend Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck).

Before long, Wiesler begins to be immersed in 'the lives of others'. Listening in to Dreyman's domestic conflicts and melodrama from a dusty attic, Wiesler becomes obsessively attached to Dreyman's life. Absorbing details that few people from the outside may know, Wiesler knows he has indirect control over Dreyman's life. In one instance, Wiesler rings the doorbell to the main entrance of Dreyman's apartment, leading him to a painful truth - witnessing his girlfriend Christa exit another man's vehicle, brushing away the folds and wrinkles on her clothes, and zipping up the side of her skirt.

Despite his blatant intrusion into the life of a stranger, Wiesler is really Dreyman's advocate - a 'guardian angel' you might say. After a while, we realise that it is not just Wiesler who's probing into a life that's not his, but we, the viewer, are thrown above the microscope to his own life. Watching the film is an experience of its own, and Wiesler becomes an object of our scrutiny, which makes us no different than voyeur that he is.

The strong cast brings a sense of urgency and drama to what is already a concrete script. The film is inscribed with wispy yet profound messages, especially when Wiesler sheds a tear listening to Dreyman playing the piano. Even through a pair of headphones, Wiesler not only listens to Dreyman's music, but connects to his feelings as well. It's the running emotions that grab you.

Although it deals with German history, the film focuses on the human aspects of life within that period - that amidst the oppression, there is hope in the unlikeliest of forms.

Cinema Online, 23 September 2008