Ulrich Mühe as Weisler

A continuing series of “out of school” Oscar reviews by Motion Picture Academy Member Roger L. Simon

My friend novelist David Freeman said the German movie The Lives of Others would remind blasé me why I was once interested in working in the movies and he was right. Thirty-three year old Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s first film about life under the Stasi (East German State Security) is a masterpiece of political cinema with the depth and lingering impact of a serious novel, an extreme rarity in movies these days. It is also a riveting theatrical experience. The film won Best Picture at the European Film Awards (after being astonishingly rejected by the Berlin and Cannes Festivals – more on this below) and should contend for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.