Obviously this is a German flick. And a damn fine one, at that. I always recommend subtitles for those that aren’t adverse to them versus what can usually be bad English dubs. While this one is paced slow enough to read without issue, it’s pretty heavy on dialogue. But ultimately it is quickly paced. Efficient. Those fkn Germans!
We are placed into Berlin in 1984, still under the heavy hand of the Communist East Germany’s Stasi (aka secret police). The beginning stats will raise some eyebrows and neck hairs. Gerd Wiesler is teaching a class of fresh recruits on the intricacies of interrogation. The techniques are...thorough. Afterwards, he gets with his buddy who’s just been promoted in the system. They check out a play, to admire one of the last true good Commie playwrights. But circumstances has our buddy Gerd setting up some new surveillance to check this Georg guy out. And while a Devoted Commie who abides the law, the reasonings behind it gives him pause. And he gets drawn intro the world of this playwright and his girlfriend as he listens to them be actual humans.
This is a great drama. You tired of watching the same old shit? Watch this. Very cool look at how the Stasi operated (allegedly), and who the people were that filled those roles. And what they actually did, to the citizens. There’s some tense stuff going on here or there, but this is more about the journey of a guy who was all in on the Interrogatins and Listenins, and then, well... Small moments of realization. Fantastic job by Ulrich Mühe in the lead as Gerd Wiesler. The couple he’s surveilling do a great job as well. And the epilogue is… worth it.
