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An Oscar for The Lives of Others (2006)

The feature film The Lives of Others, directed by the youthful Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, tells the poignant story of two East German artists under state surveillance and the Stasi spy assigned to them. One of the most successful German movies of all time, The Lives of Others was also the first major movie production to deal with the difficult issue of police spying in the German Democratic Republic. This still shows actor Ulrich Muehe in the role of the Stasi police spy Gerd Wiesler. Muehe had actually been a victim of Stasi espionage in the German Democratic Republic. The film garnered numerous prizes, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 2006. After the film won the award, a number of German newspapers proclaimed "We are Oscar" [“Wir sind Oscar”] – a humorous reference to the 2005 Bild-Zeitung headline "We are Pope" [“Wir sind Papst”].

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An Oscar for <I>The Lives of Others</i> (2006)

Photo: dpa-Film Buena Vista
picture-alliance/ dpa
(c) dpa – Report