I came across this in Roger Ebert's Front Row in today's Chicago SunTimes:
Q. I, too, loved "The Lives of Others." While the way the film looks and the acting are both superb, for me, it was the subject matter of the story I most admired. However, we had different takes. You referenced current politics; while for me, the film resonated because of its accurate depiction of life in a communist country, subject matter that Hollywood has almost entirely ignored, despite the fact that there is over 70 years worth of material. Hollywood has produced countless movies about the anti-war movement during the 1960s, McCarthyism and the evil actions of the U.S. military and CIA. However, where are the movies about Armando Valladares' time in a Cuban prison or Walter Duranty's lies about the Ukrainian famine?
Jorge A. del Rio, Singer Island, Fla.
A. A point well taken. The most effective anti-communist films are made by directors who lived under communism; often, they use codes, as in Istvan Szabo's masterpiece "Mephisto," which is set during the Nazi occupation of Hungary but could as well be told about the communists.
Q. Additional (sad) information related to the movie "The Lives of Others," which you just reviewed: Ulrich Muehe, the actor playing the lead (Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler), passed away July 22 at age 54.
He suffered from stomach cancer but kept this secret until the week before his death. Maybe this information could be added to the review to honor this extraordinary actor.
Sven Hader, Wiesloch, Germany
A. That he knew this adds poignancy to every one of his scenes. |
