In 1983 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.

Broodingly atmospheric and replete with sharply-manoeuvred twists, this noir-inflected thriller examines the machinations of the East German regime in forensic detail. Winner of the Best International Feature Oscar®, The Lives of Others lucidly evokes the insidious terror of the surveillance state.