Carolime Time

Lives of Others movie review

I just watched Lives of Others, and I have to tell people to check it out…
It’s about state security surveillance of civilians, movers, and shakers in East Germany before the wall fell.
It plays out via the timeline of a romantic relationship and a bit more.
There are eyes everywhere in this film. Not just watching, but being watched. Watched, as they watch. By us, by each other.
The characters are in their bare minimums, at home, in their workplace, in their bedrooms. I guess that’s something that attracts us to movies in the first place. We want to watch others fall, pick themselves up, or sink further..as all humans are prone to doing.
The characters are meant to be taken in on a personal level here, I’d say. Not in a documentary form, where you know it’s a hard-edged truth..or when you gulp slowly and bear witness… When one finds themselves empathizing with numerous sides of a struggle, it must be admitted that the director is doing a damn good job illustrating the internal conflicts of all those involved. It wasn’t especially dazzling in its originality as a story, nor is it a wooden rollercoaster of emotions. No, I wouldn’t say I even fell in love with any one character. I was, however, peering closely to see what was in the distance of each shot. So I was immersed. I totally thought I was part of the government security, keeping an eye out on anything that seems out of place…But, of course, I’d probably fall hard for any person I’m told to watch full time. How could I not?

anyway………….i should probably get back to work haaah good night—
y’all better go watch this movie! i didn’t write this for fun!! it’s a wicked flick.. i almost cried AND I didn’t fall asleep!
Btw I was watching Benny and Joon the other night…I need to watch the rest of that movie sooooooon–i very reluctantly fell asleep in the first hour, and was really liking all the quirkiness…!! so yeah maybe i’ll recommend that next..
i’m also resisting all temptation to pause in my readings and paste further excerpts from ’shantaram’…i just got to the love part of the book and i’m entering carefully just because it’s so thick that i’m sure the rest of the book isn’t about love! it can’t be!!!

and so closes another play by play page from my memoirs..sigh..