My sister has been telling me for months that I needed to watch "Lives of Others" - an award winning German movie from a few years ago. I admit I'd been dreading it - what if the movie made me "FEEL" something? What if I got emotionally involved with the characters? Oh no! So tonight, I settled in and read subtitles for over two hours.
It was very good. Basic plot was "what effect does it have on the listener who listens in on the 'lives of others' in a police state?" It's easy to see who's the good guy vs the bad guys here - East German secret police trying to get some leverage on a prominent author because one of the head honchos has the hots for the author's leading actress girlfriend. It was even filmed to show the warm creams and yellows of the author's apartment - versus the cold, blue, solitary, proletarian room of the main listener, Weisel. (yeah, pronounced "weasel").
So now, I need to talk about the movie with somebody. And I emailed my sister, but it's not the same. The more I think about the movie... the more I can't stop thinking about it. Yes. It made me Feel. I became invested in what would happen to the characters - good guys and bad guys. The contrast between the life of the author and the life of the listener. How one person - even in a police state like East Germany was - can make a difference. How we all have to express ourselves and express our humanity. How connections make such a difference. How we each decide what we're willing to sacrifice. How hope is essential to our lives - without hope ... hmmm...
Good movie. Okay - excellent movie.
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