(Being a post of a different sort, this follows in the footsteps of Paul who often interjected little opinions and asides in his work.)
We rented "The Lives of Others" the night before last. It's a chilling foreign film about West Berlin in the early 80's before the wall came tumbling down. Its not for kids; they would definitely be bored. And, thats not to say that many adults might be bored as well as this movie is slow. But, there's a method to it's gait.
Dark, dreary, full of dull browns, grays, and boxy VW's, this movie is worth the depressing atmosphere as it explores the paranoia that comes with constant surveillance, with knowing that there are people out to get you just because you are who you are.
You struggle with the characters as they struggle with oppression: the government officer who becomes disillusioned with the spy network's ethics, the writer who can no longer write plays that reinforce the oppression around him, and the actress who desperately wants to work, but knows that it comes at a price. This movie evokes a number of emotions in the watcher, with gratefulness that this is no longer the reality on one end, and paranoia that this may indeed be the reality at the other.
And what is our reality? Perhaps this film is meant to make us question our own secrets today. Are we as secretive as we hope we are? In our homes? In our bathrooms? In our offices? Or is there a chink in this armor that we think we have?
I hope you enjoy. If not, don't blame the reviewer, blame West Berlin.
See you in church,
VT...
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