The Lives of Others

This Anzac Day afternoon we followed the crowds to the cinemas to see a late afternoon screening of 'The Lives of Others', this year's best foreign film Oscar winner from Germany. The story is based on the East German government's spying by the Stasi on the populace. Set in 1984, it is incredibly involved, intriguing and superbly acted. Rene, Kay1 and I saw it and talked about it a lot while dinner was being prepared. At 2h13m it isn't a short film, but it is totally engrossing. It looked brilliant on the extra wide cinema screen, and along with an almost full house, it was memorable. I'm sure we can all remember what we were doing in the mid to late 80's quite vividly, I certainly can. It is scary to think this sort of thing went on so recently. Travelling to Berlin and Potsdam in late 2004 and knowing someone who has lived through this turbulent time in German history made it hit home all the harder for me. Don't miss it, go see it!