Tatvam Productions

Several weeks ago, I saw The Lives of Others. Bloody brilliant. I was riveted to every single scene. And since then, I’ve thought about it every day…

A movie about the horrific and desperate times in the GDR before the Wall fell, it follows the lives of the theater community who are under constant scrutiny by the Stasi. The story revolves around Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), a director, his girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), an actress, and the Stasi officer, Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe), who, as he spies on them, is faced with the harsh reality of what the Stasi is doing to his fellow countrymen.

Given the powerful subject matter, the cinematography maintains a certain distance from the characters - facts without emotion. I mean, damn - there is so much emotion in the content that if there was more in the cinematography it would be too much. There is one shot that I recall distinctly though, which slams you with emotion - Weisler, alone in the attic, and as he listens, the camera just focuses on him. The desolation is dramatic. At that moment, you feel for him - for his sad life, his desperate loneliness, how hard is job is on him emotionally. Ulrich Mühe was exception. Actually, across the board, the acting was phenomenal.

The production design was fabulous and added to the sense of desolation. Everything was bleak - the streets were empty, the trees hardly had leaves and the colors… oh the colors were perfect. Dull greens, no blue and absolutely no red - no vibrancy. All cold solitude. Lots of empty open spaces - even the park was empty with a blustery wind I could feel. Brilliant.

I walked out of the movie feeling a desperate, gut wrenching sadness. So many people, living in a system where there is no one to trust. Torture would be preferable to having your closest loved one spy on you. Think about it - an entire country of people - a life where you could not rely on anyone in the whole world. The most isolating, desperate of situations. Gives me the shivers even now.

Okay, the movie is fabulous - you get that. What blew me away even more was that it was the director’s first-ever feature. First. Ever. Feature. First-ever feature that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Why just restrict it to foreign film - it was probably the best film there! Better than The Departed (yes, I know Martin won for his lifetime of achievements, as I shared here).

Okay, forget the Oscars. I mean, to come up with such a brilliant film as the first-ever feature? Holy crapola!

Florian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck.
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
Florian.
I salute you.

I salute you because you followed your dream. Because you switched careers to film and fell in love with it. Because you went to school to hone your raw talent. Because you were moved by an image of a man sitting alone in a bleak room, listening to beautiful music. Because you made a movie with a message. Because you were born the same year that I was.

Because you give me hope. Hope that 34 is young. Hope that career shift can work. Hope that powerful ideas and powerful images can become powerful films. Hope that I too can make a great film (although maybe not the first one!)

I know others have made great first films. But you, Florian, are my generation. I identify with you for so many reason. And I thank you for inspiring me.

Please go on and do many more great things. I will be rooting for you.