The Lives of Others

East German culture scene, mid-1980s. State power entrenches on the lives of two artists, a couple, initially seemingly untouched by politics – Georg is a playwright, Christa-Maria an actress. Minister Hempf sets the Stasi onto Georg and wants him out of the way, as he has fallen in love with Christa-Maria.

But the longer the surveillance specialist Captain Wiesler concerns himself with the couple, the more his loyalty to the state is put to the test.

The Lives of Others (distributed by Buena Vista International) was awarded seven German film prizes in 2006, three European film prizes and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007. With this film, the award-winning director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Mühe, Thomas Thieme and Ulrich Tukur were propelled to the top ranks of German cinema.

A powerful film, a controversial theme, a gripping story: along with numerous stills, the film book comprises not only the original script, but also behind-the-scenes reports such as the filming diary held by Sebastian Koch and an extensive interview with Ulrich Mühe.

»Through this film script, the reader steps in as the actor and takes on every role – even that of the director or the cameraman. Precisely what a film script should do. The copious additional material, such as the interview with actor Ulrich Mühe or the filming diary kept by Sebastian Koch, round up the book perfectly. Thus, one does not look solely into the work itself, but also behind the scenes of this drama, awarded the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007«. Susann Fleischer, literaturmarkt.info