The Lives of Others is set in 1984, in the days leading up to and immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Dramatist Georg (Koch) and his partner, actress Christ-Maria (Gedeck) are popular in society. The fact that they are not loyal to the party line causes them to come under suspicion from the Minister of Culture who orders secret service agent Wiesler (Mühe) to observe the couple. In doing so, Wiesler be becomes more interested in the couples lives than their political alliances. Despite the heavy subject matter, the film is very easy to watch and enjoyable. It has a human-interest side to a story that could otherwise have been very political. Perhaps this is one of the reasons The Lives of Others won an Oscar for best foreign language film this year. Personally, I went along to the film expecting to watch something slightly different from what I got, and I was happier with the end result. The film is intriguing and gives you an insight into a life very different from how we live. Despite this, you are able to develop compassion for the characters through the build up in the movie. I definitely encourage you to watch this interesting film.'