This 2006 film is based on the lives the Stasi watch – and of course, the lives of the Stasi members themselves.
East German actor Ulrich Mühe plays our Stasi main character. Mühe died the year after this film’s release. He got his start in the DDR with Schiller’s Kabale und Liebe and was himself watched by the Stasi, due to his career of choice.
Thomas Thieme is an actor we should all know by now. He’s been in big-name films such as Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, Der Untergang, Er ist wieder da, Berlin ’36, and the TV Series Babylon Berlin among dozens of other roles. Thieme also began his career in the DDR, with a film called Erziehung von Verdun: Der große Krieg der weißen Männer.
Yet another East German actor in this cast is Hans-Uwe Bauer, whom we may know from Friendship!, Der blinde Fleck, and Good Bye Lenin!.
Many of the cast are actors we’ve seen in this blog a few times: Ulrich Tukur, Herbert Knaup, Sebastian Koch, and Martina Gedeck.
Perhaps the most “German” piece of this film is in one the final scenes, when our victim is allowed to read the reports the Stasi made of him. This piece may be the best discussion piece the film has to offer, though it does offer several.
This film is rated R in the U.S. for nudity and sexuality. These scenes may include very quick transitions and are important to the plot. The first such scene is 42 minutes in. Although there is no full nudity in this particular one, it is clear that the official is forcing himself on the woman. The first sex scene with nudity is 48 minutes in, which is preceded by our Stasi member giving directions to his apartment. The exit is about 20 minutes later, preceded by the Stasi member beginning to read his co-worker’s report. I do know a few high school teachers who successfully use this film, skipping these scenes and/or having appropriate parent permissions, but this is one I prefer to recommend to my students or their families as appropriate to their individual values and interests, as this film is relatively readily available in the U.S. for those allowed to watch it.