The Lives of Others (2006) directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, is set in
East Berlin, five years before the downfall of communist East Germany (or the
German Democratic Republic). The story centres on a covertly activist
playwright and his actress girlfriend. Both professions notoriously monitored
for any deviations from the status quo during the cruel years policed by the
notorious Stasi.
The
film follows the appointment of Captain Gerd Wiesler, who hopes to boost his
career by taking on the job of bugging and spying on the couple. Over the
following months the couple’s intimate lives are revealed to Wiesler. The depth
of their creativity makes him very aware of the emptiness of his own life,
which is echoed in his lonely existence within the system.
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| Cathy Lomax 25.08.09 He wondered if he should get the kid's family arrested; 2009, oil on paper, 23x30.5cm |
There
is an element of Schindlers List (1993) about the storyline, as Wiesler faces his own internal crisis of conscience.
But although the film can be seen as uplifting and in praise of human
compassion against the backdrop of this tragic, claustrophobic and paranoid
era, it has been noted that in the real communist East Berlin an individual
would never have been allowed, nor would have been able to have such a crisis
of conscience. The system in this particular totalitarian state (as opposed,
say, to that of apartheid South Africa, which had opposing ‘sides’) ruled over
its entire people and the ones closest to the system were under just as much
scrutiny, if not more than the other inhabitants. This was backed up by state
jobs being delegated to more than one person, so no individual would ever have
complete control over any one task, especially surveillance. However, the
simple act of a human having the ability to change their mind during such a
pressurising regime, offers hope.
The
apparent reconciliatory nature of people when the Berlin wall came down and the
regime ended as shown in the film is in stark contrast to the actual feelings
that were shown at the time. All the records from the regime went on public
display for people to trace family members who had disappeared, but this
happened for only two years, as it prompted many bloody reprisals against the
Stasi who were now living as ordinary civilians.
As
with so many films made soon after a time of dramatic social change, the need
for openness and truth emerging from a cloudy and secretive past can become
distorted in the pursuit of just that, through blame. Hence people directly
involved in the former republic during the time the film was set have had
differing reactions to it as a portrayal of how events could have actually
happened.
After
the state was dismantled a new kind of openness emerged and the Stasi were
generally employed not, as depicted in the film, doing a job they were over
qualified for but instead as private detectives, managers (they were highly
trained in psychological management of people), and estate agents. Much of the
press and literature at the time seemed to be preoccupied with the now and
moving forward, and not the recent past of the GDR. Not everyone accepted what
had happened, and there have been accusations of facts still being hidden by
the people who suffered at the hands of the Stasi and claims of victimisation
by the ex-Stasi.
Germany
over the last 80 years has faced two major totalitarian states and has suffered
the denial of and fighting for subsequent truths. This film does have a place
in documenting the history of the former GDR, and is beautifully shot, its
atmosphere enhanced by the austere state architecture. My one proviso is that I
hope someone is making a film, not about an individual’s redeeming act, but how
to avoid the individual being subsumed in the first place.
Debbie Ainscoe
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