The Lives of Others

The 2006 historical narrative "The Lives of Others" presents a powerful social commentary which brings about a poignant conclusion to the film. The focus turns from the story of East and West Germany to the story between Georg and Wiesler in my opinion, yet of course, the political aspect of the film is still there. Of the three classifications of change-of-knowledge, goal-oriented, or investigation, I believe that this film falls under the classification of goal-oriented because Wiesler's character tries to change a state of affairs, namely imprisoning the playwright Georg Dreyman for suspicion of his political views and for stealing the typewriter he was using for "Lazlo", the 40th anniversary play meant to celebrate the GDR. What struck me the most in the film was a conversation that the Minister of Culture and the playwright Georg Dreyman had. In this conversation, we listen to strong convictions about change and we hear and see in the end of the film how Wiesler is changed. The Minister of Culture and Georg are talking and the Minister tells Georg that people do not change, though his plays say that they do. At the end of the film, we see that the Minister was wrong and that Georg was right; people do change. Wiesler, the colonel who was eavesdropping on Georg Dreyman and who hired men to wiretap his home, found a book which was dedicated to HGW XX/7. Wiesler is HGW XX/7. Georg dedicated this book to him as a thank you for lying on his report. Wiesler in the beginning had tried so hard to find evidence against Dreyman for his liberal writings but at the end of the film, he has a change of heart. The music in the final scene reflects this change of heart with its tenderness, while the music in the scenes where Wiesler’s men are searching Dreyman’s apartment reflect the suspense and tension so desired by the director that the audience feel. There is a switch from one man's loyalty to party to loyalty to man and this creates a resolution for the plot because it presents the argument of Georg Dreyman and his plays and the humanity.