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(1 - 38) of 38 OFCS Rating: 95% Fresh Page   1   "a finely nuanced screenplay into whose naturalistic dialogue an intricate array of suggestive symbols and recurring motifs are subtly folded."   Eye for Film   Anton Bitel "Foregoes all the pyrotechnics of flashy thrillers and high-strung spy mysteries for something that gets under the skin. A highly intelligent character drama that passes through the brain before reaching the heart."   european-films.net   Boyd van Hoeij A- "Donnersmarck's confident direction suggests a fundamental question about why governmental wiretapping seems fascistic when performed in other countries, but permissible here."   ColeSmithey.com   Cole Smithey "Wiesler is also an audience member, translating, assessing, and shaping the lives of others so that they accommodate his own expectations, even as such expectations are, he realizes, shaped by other "others.""   PopMatters   Cynthia Fuchs 2/4 "...ultimately undone by the glacial pace with which the filmmaker has infused the proceedings."   Reel Film Reviews   David Nusair "... delivers on several levels, offering multitextured characters who make no facile decisions, and re-creating the paranoia of Cold War-era Germany with an assured hand."   Portland Tribune   Dawn Taylor B- "A harsh history lesson that looks back at the drab East Berlin of 1984."   Ozus' World Movie Reviews   Dennis Schwartz 4/5 "Una notable mirada a la vida bajo un régimen opresivo, en este caso la RDA de 1984. Sorprendente debut del director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, con excelente elenco y calidad narrativa."   Uruguay Total   Enrique Buchichio A- "A multi-layered and surprisingly touching dramatic thriller."   EricDSnider.com   Eric D. Snider 3.5/4 "A gripping tale of nightmarish voyeurism and the psychological abyss that elevates von Donnersmarck's European nail-biter. [A] sleek and intrusive communist caper."   TheWorldJournal.com   Frank Ochieng B+ "Works as a dramatically compelling indictment of a particularly odious regime, but also as a commentary on the corruption of power in the broadest sense."   One Guy's Opinion   Frank Swietek 5/5 "A riveting German film about spying and the fear, distrust, and betrayal that come with it."   Spirituality and Practice   Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat B+ "The Lives of Others addresses the transformative power of art and how our ordinary lives can be interpreted as narrative."   Cinepinion   Henry Stewart 3.5/4 "Whether or not this is the best foreign language film of 2006 is debatable, but there should be no argument that it is deserving to be numbered among the elite non-English language productions receiving international distribution."   ReelViews   James Berardinelli 4/4 "A scathing indictment of East Germany's corrupt administration tempered by the very human emotion of the people it touched."   Palo Alto Weekly   Jeanne Aufmuth 8/10 "Actually one of the most optimistic stories I've watched in a long while."   Window to the Movies   Jeffrey Chen "There is a grace note at the end that will make you weep, and shore up your belief in the worth of fundamental decency."   FilmFreak.be   Jonathan F. Richards 3/5 "It's so beautifully made, that people tend to oversee it's weak character transformation that's at the heart of the script, which strikes the drama's credibility."   Movies for the Masses   Joseph Proimakis 5/5 "Subtle and delightful - please see review."   rec.arts.movies.reviews   Karina Montgomery 3/5 "A refreshing alternative to the whimsical and nostalgic look back on Communist life in Good Bye Lenin!"   Film-Forward.com   Kent Turner A "...while the genre often reflects paranoia, von Donnersmarck succeeds in hammering home how the right to privacy is integral to our human makeup."   rec.arts.movies.reviews   Laura Clifford B+ "As a Cold War thriller, The Lives of Others is gripping stuff replete with the nuts and bolts of all-encompassing surveillance."   Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema   Mark Pfeiffer "[S]trange and beautiful and hopeful and ironic... This is an amazing film."   Flick Filosopher   MaryAnn Johanson 5/5 "... von Donnersmarck creates a milieu so realistic that the attention-worthy setting becomes just a backdrop, while an intricate tale, as suspenseful as it is humanistic, takes over."   Film Threat   Matthew Sorrento 5/5 "Através dos personagens ambíguos, de um roteiro muito bem construído (e politicamente relevante) e da direção sóbria e segura do cineasta estreante, o filme comove, incomoda e faz pensar."   Cinema em Cena   Pablo Villaca 4/5 "Not only expertly captures a specific point in history, but also offers a bracing examination of human nature."   Shadows on the Wall   Rich Cline C "The Lives of Others aims to flatter its audience - a quality typical for a film whose emotional posturing is only skin deep."   Projection Booth   Rob Humanick A "The best foreign language film of the year is also one of the year's best overall."   Laramie Movie Scope   Robert Roten A "This study on totalitarianism breaks new ground with its examination of the lives of its characters under the yoke of "democratic socialism.""   Reeling Reviews   Robin Clifford 8/10 "A neatly crafted thriller with first rate acting, directing and writing combined with spy paraphernalia and political intrigue. Fully deserving of its status as Germany's Best Foreign Film Oscar nominee."   Monsters and Critics   Ron Wilkinson B+ "... an unexpectedly bracing story of idealism, disillusionment and defiance."   Seattle Post-Intelligencer   Sean Axmaker 3/4 "Reels us in and keeps us engaged."   Charlotte Weekly   Sean O'Connell "Moving and deeply satisfying."   Salon.com   Stephanie Zacharek 10/10 "The most unforgettable, electrifying German film in more than a decade."   www.susangranger.com   Susan Granger 3.5/4 "Bleak yet never completely despairing, this superbly acted and richly atmospheric film has a gravitas and thematic complexity that's sadly absent from most contemporary American films."   Reel.com   Timothy Knight 3/4 "It has a heart you believe in and a working brain to match."   Film Freak Central   Walter Chaw "Click here to see review"   Wolf Entertainment Guide   William Wolf "Click here to see review"   Wolf Entertainment Guide   William Wolf  (1 - 38) of 38 OFCS Rating: 95% Fresh Page   1