Mithras-4

In April 2006, a friend of mine asked me if i'd join her to watch "Das Leben Der Anderen" at the movies. I didn't quite know what this movie was really about, i only knew it dealt with the Stasi secret service in the former GDR, an historical topic which is still discussed controversial and emotionally in present-day Germany.

After the end titles appeared on the screen i realized that i had not only seen that year's best movie, but also IMO one of the best movies in recent years! I watched 4 more times (convincing other friends of mine to join me at the movies) and now it's of my favourite moves ever...

I was struck by the atmosphere, the brilliant acting (especially the great (and sadly late) Ulrich Muehe) and the compelling storytelling and directing of Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck (what a name! But one i'll keep on my radar...) and its' message...

I felt that this movie was more than simply a "Stasi movie" as it is often described. Even more it's a moral play about being human (under inhuman conditions). It shows how a totalitarian system dehumanizes its people - no matter if they are pro or contra the regime. But it also reminds me about how people even in the so-called "free world" in the western hemisphere act like opportunists, neglect their freedom of speech and simply follow paroles...

Maybe that's the main reason this movie is understood around the world and not only in Germany. It uses the historical situation of the last years of the GDR to explore how humans behave differently to the same circumstances: You oppose, you follow because of idealism, you sell yourself to the regime or you muddle through as an "inner emigrant"...

I think that Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck is rooted in Catholicism. He wrote the script for "Das Leben Der Anderen" at the Heiligenkreuz Abbey in Austria, which is led by his uncle. And so he shows compassion for the moral struggling by some of his characters - and leaves it to the movie's audience to ask itself how it would have reacted in similar situations. Or how it even behaves today in "harmless times"... Or knows how to behave like a "good man"?

"Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression." (Psalm 19, 12-13)

First of all, i think that this movie REALLY takes it´s time. I guess many viewers are bored to death, till the Jupiter Mission kicks off in the film and HAL is introduced. But the movie itself (for me) is one of the most fascinating ones ever made. It´s typical Kubrick: These clean white rooms with red chairs look scary, you can nearly smell the emptiness and danger, similar to the worlds he created in "A Clockwork Orange", "The Shining" or "Eyes Wide Shut", also the musical score, as in every Kubrick film, is very important. He must have disliked mankind a lot in his lifetime, and in some way, HAL may be his alter ego. Right from the beginning, Kubrick´s message is: We may be human, but we´re still animals. But the only survivor of the Jupiter mission is allowed to be reborn as a "Superman", that´s why the score of Strauss´"Also sprach Zarathustra" (an opera based on the famous book by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, where the "Ubermensch" or "Superman" is introduced) is used. Only seperated from his planet, man is allowed to become something "greatful" and especially peaceful. But i guess some experts can write more clever things about possible meanings of "2001". I like Stanley Kubrick very much and this is one of his best films. Please: Don´t be afraid by the slow tempo of this film!

This movie was shot in only 23 days at a theatre in Düsseldorf. It´s about a gay murderer who kills lots of young boys and then butchers them in order to eat ´em with his friends.-

Sounds scary, but it´s incredible how the film crew created an stunning atmosphere with just a very low budget. Fassbinder couldn´t direct because he did other projects, so crew member and actor Uli Lommel did the job. Many Fassbinder friends join the movie. See this unusual one!