The Lives of Others Critic Reviews

The easy, complacent distance that informs much historical filmmaking is almost entirely absent from this supremely intelligent, unfailingly honest movie.Read the full review

A powerful but quiet film, constructed of hidden thoughts and secret desires.Read the full review

A thoroughly compelling political thriller, at once intellectually challenging and profoundly emotional.Read the full review

It's an intricate, ambiguous and deeply satisfying movie, a tautly plotted tale of state surveillance and personal betrayal that ultimately becomes an ode to the transformative power of art.Read the full review

A great film, the best I've seen since Terrence Malick's "The New World," and far and away the richest and most brilliantly acted picture to be released this Oscar season.Read the full review

To watch "Lives" is not just to enjoy a fabulously constructed timepiece; it's to appreciate a deft cautionary tale.Read the full review

Rather than dwell on the darkness and squalor, von Donnersmarck has fashioned a genuinely thrilling tale, leavened with sly humor, that works ingenious variations on the theme of cat and mouse, speaks to current concerns about personal privacy and illuminates the timeless conflict between totalitarianism and art.Read the full review

Utterly riveting fictional drama.Read the full review

It convincingly demonstrates that when done right, moral and political quandaries can be the most intensely dramatic dilemmas of all.Read the full review