Das Leben der Anderen
East Berlin, 1984: Gerd Wiesler, who works for the Stasi, communist East Germany's notorious secret police, attends a play written by DDR model citizen Georg Dreyman. Being naturally suspicious, Wiesler cannot believe Dreyman to be so perfect, and he puts in a request with the Minister of Culture for investigating the playwright. And thus it begins. Soon he discovers the minister's true motive for granting permission for surveillance: he is infatuated with Dreyman's girlfriend Christa-Maria. Knowing this drastically changes Wiesler's attitude: instead of looking for incriminating facts, he increasingly tries to protect Dreyman and his girlfriend, which has far-reaching consequences for all involved.
Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck made his feature debut with Das Leben der Anderen, for which he also wrote the script. It was a dream debut, the film was showered with awards, including the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Starring Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Martina Gedeck and more.