Germany, which experienced the Nazi period and the Cold War era, because of its special historical background, most German films since the new century are full of strong speculative and critical spirit.
This german classic film from 13 years ago that this article is going to talk about is one of the masterpieces:
Eavesdropping Storm
The film has a high rating of 9.1 on Douban and ranks 46th in the TOP250.
It should be known that after its release, it won 11 nominations at the German Film Festival in a record-breaking manner, and finally won 7 awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Film Emperor, Best Screenwriter, etc., and later swept through European film festivals, and finally even won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
After World War II, Germany was divided into two camps by a wall: East Germany and West Germany
The East German State Security Service had 85,000 Stasi secret police, and ironically, these policemen were not used to spy on hostile elements, but to control the East German people.
The film takes place in 1984, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, in Berlin, East Germany.
Wiesler, a NSA captain who was incomparably loyal to the socialist system in East Germany, was calm, sane, and highly professional.
Once, his superior, Ur, took him to the theater to see a show, and with his astonishing professional sensitivity, he became suspicious of the playwright Dremann and voluntarily applied to spy on Dremann.
In the course of the surveillance, he gradually became attracted to the lives of Dremann and his wife, Krista.
His beliefs also began to waver because of the enthusiasm, optimism, and conscience of these artists.
And at this moment, Dreman's good friend, the most acclaimed director in the theater world, Jasca. Deprived of his creative rights by the NSA for seven years, he finally hanged himself after suffering from his inner torment.
The death of his friend was a big blow to Dremann, and in his grief, he decided to use Jasca as an example to write a report on the data of suicides from political persecution in East Germany every year and submit it to der Spiegel in West Germany for publication.
While Wisler, who was spying on them, decided to help them, he begged his boss, Ur, to remove the subordinates who might expose Dremann's plans and write fake surveillance records.
Dreher's article was successfully published in West Germany, but it also provoked the anger of the minister, who ordered the NSA to be sure to catch the writer who wrote the article.
At this time, Dreman's wife, actress Krista, was arrested for angering the Minister of Culture. In exchange for her freedom, she told the NSA the location of Dreyman's hidden typewriter.
But just before the NSA went to Dreman's house to search for printers, Wiesler had secretly diverted the typewriter, knowing that he would be demoted.
The NSA plan failed, and Dreman escaped. Unfortunately, Christa cut herself off because of her guilt, and Wiesler was demoted to a letter breaker in the basement.
In 1989, the "Berlin Wall" was torn down.
During a conversation with the former minister of culture at the theater, Dremann accidentally learned that he had been monitored. When he searched his surveillance file, he finally discovered what Wesler had done for him behind his back, and his heart was deeply shaken.
Two years later, Dremann published a book titled Sonata of the Good Men for Wiesler.
The Chicago Sun has praised the film as:
"A powerful but quiet film".
Indeed, in half of the Stasi control, people either betray others for their own benefit or fear of being betrayed by others.
In such an absurd social landscape and the state of self-endangerment of everyone, the final "defection" of Stasi, code-named HGW XX/7, is both shocking and powerful.
As Wesler was drawn to the lives of artists such as Dremann, his own beliefs changed.
After the death of his friend, a grieving Dreyman played the piano music sent by his friend. As soon as the camera pans, Wiesler, who was listening to all this in the other room, was already moved to tears. And his so emotional side is in strong contrast with the cold impression left on the audience before, and the audience has begun to identify with him.
He began to help the artists, first by revising the eavesdropping content, concealing Dreyman and his friends' plans to publish articles, then preventing the actress Christa's depravity, and even finally blocking the rest of his career to save the writer.
In the change of Wiesler, the audience's emotions are also touched, and they are impressed by the great human brilliance in him.
Of course, the character of Wiesler is so accomplished that actor Ulrich Moue is indispensable.
He expresses this character who is cold on the outside but has rich and warm emotions on the inside, which is both delicate and extremely measured.
In the film, his words and actions are extremely cautious, and even his face does not have too many expressions, but with the subtle changes in his eyes, the audience can feel his emotional changes, and the audience who has watched this film has been deeply impressed by his superb acting skills.
Not only the actors' performances are restrained and calm, but the tone of the film and the way of handling the plot also follow a calm and objective narrative method.
At the end of the film, Dremann finds Wiesler, who is delivering the newspaper, and all kinds of emotions rush into his chest, he wants to go forward and meet West, but when he is close to Wiesler, he restrains himself and waits to see West walk away before turning to leave.
Two years later, Wiesler stood in the bookstore page by page and looked at the book Dreyman had written for him, and the title page of the book read: Dedicated to HGW XX/7 (Wesler's code name) and expressed his deepest gratitude.
He took the book and calmly walked to the counter to check out, and his mood at the moment could not be seen at all from his face. The clerk asked him, "Do you need to wrap it up?" ”
That's when we saw Wittler smile and reply, "No, it's for me." ”
The final scene of the film is fixed on Wiesler's smiling face.
It's a no-drama ending, but the audience can feel the strength and warmth in this calm and restrained narrative.
Its theme is deep and moving.
Not only does it expose the inhuman suffering that people endure in turbulent times, but also the blows to human rights and morality.
At the same time, it also tells the audience that under the pressure, there is still warmth between people, and there is still the goodness of human nature.
Dremann's Sonata of the Good Man was given not only to Wiesler, but also to those who still maintain the innocence and goodness of humanity in a dark society.