I've had this film recorded for ages and have just got around to watching it and what a brilliant film it is......it has quickly found a place amongst my favourites....

In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.

[www.imdb.com]

One of my favourites! I'm waiting for it to re-appear on TV, so if anyone spots it coming round again, give a shout.

Russ

That sounds really familiar, Ivor. What year was it made and who's in it?

Are you cross-posting Mi Duck?

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

I'm a dufus. I meant Becky.

And hey! I have been reading til I'm cross-eyed. I didn't take the Mark as Read cheat like somebody I know!

I was going to say that you now know what I went through, the Christmas before last, but after that, at least I was in hospital.

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

Now now! CHILDREN!


A commitment to Mod'nAdminlyness: I understand that ^{r-e-s-i-s-t-a-n-c-e} _{*i - s*} ^f-u-t-i-l-e.
I shall not be starchy, nit pic, patronize, commit misandry, be economical with the facts or be a pedant, neither shall I whine. I shall endeavour to abstain from gratuitous point-scoring off the comments of other Mods or Administrators and also from engendering a culture of BLAME, remembering too to give the benefit of the doubt. Everything in my power will be done to achieve a modest post count & share my smileys, sources & avatars,

D*mn! Thought I headed that one off at the pass. Okay, okay you win.

Janaru Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That sounds really familiar, Ivor. What year was
> it made and who's in it?
============================================================================


Hi Janaru..

The Lives of Others (German: Das Leben der Anderen) is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police. It stars Ulrich Mühe as Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler, Ulrich Tukur as his chief Anton Grubitz, Sebastian Koch as the playwright Georg Dreyman, and Martina Gedeck as Dreyman's lover, a prominent actress named Christa-Maria Sieland.

[en.wikipedia.org]

Nope. Don't think I've seen it, Becky, but it does sound like something I'd like. Sounds like something my husband would like as well, especially if we can find it in German. Thanks, I'll pass that on to him.

The Lives of Others is in german with english subtitles....it won an Oscar in 2007 and a BAFTA in 2008 for for best foreign film. Talks are currently going on to make an english version.

Hi mobson. Welcome and thanks for the input.

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

Hey Mobson, welcome! By the way, is that Mobson from R4 messageboards fame?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 0316 May 20 2011 by Janaru.

Wow! Mobson and Janaru together again! Hi Mobson, if it is you. What a party we had at the closing of the BBC boards. BBC people were monitoring that, of course. I heard from one lovely soul who said she was almost in tears. And Lives of Others is a wonderful, scary, moving film.

I was in tears over the board closures too! It really was a loss. TwitterFace just isn't the same

Hi there all, yes it's me Mobson without the '7' nowadays! Yes, it got very emotional towards the end didn't it - I too was in tears, and am not surprised that staff at the Beeb were affected. It was one of their worst decisions in this latest shake-up! But it's so good that this m/b is here to share all that's good (& bad!) in so many diverse subjects.

I've just had a very rocky ride over at the Zetaboards...quite frankly they do not deserve my input which has been considerable, especially in setting up the format for the radio sub forums, including drama/reading which I'm passionate about!...had to fight tooth and typewriter to get that into shape and now it is, I'm so fed up with the antics of one undesirable, rude, manic poster, who thankfully never listens to the radio, (where's Anna when you need her!) that I am taking a break! .Oh dear that sounds a bit dramatic doesn't it!
...So Hello Everyone!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 1719 May 25 2011 by mobson.

I'm getting really fed up with the advert for R4X on BBC TV. It doesn't help that I'm not a great fan of Just A Minute. If only they had put as much effort into promoting R7.

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

Similar in subject to the film discussed here, was a programme called The Iron Curtain, broadcast as part of 'Writing the Century' series in R4 Woman's Hour drama slot earlier this month. Did anybody listen to it? The drama was inspired by the diaries of Paula Kirby, who at the age of 21, fresh out of University, went to teach English in East Germany in the 1980's and her correspondence with one of her pupils, paediatric surgeon Knut Loffler. Over the 5 episodes we get to hear how they fell in love and wanted to marry; for 2 years he tried to come to live in the west, as he was an academic the Stasi were very hard on him and threatened serious consquences, and after all the struggles they endured to try to get permission for him to leave, things became too stressful and they parted, but kept in contact, until the new Millenium saw them agree to reunite...however, just before Paula left England, Knut's daughter rang to say he had been killed in a car accident. Paula went to say goodbye and some 2,000 people were at his funeral to pay their respects to this wonderful, kind man. On the night of his funeral, Paula slept in his bed, and even used his toothbrush, so desolate was she at his passing.

I posted interest in the series on Z m/bs radio drama section; becky sharp and I continued to post how much we were enjoying this series and when it finished, how sad we were to hear the ending.

Becky & I then decided to find out more about the couple. Knut was impossible to find information on (as explained by Paula later in our correspondence) but Becky found Paula easily as she is a writer, specialising in freethinking and secular organisations. She also writes for the Washington Post amongst other things. I found her expressing doubts about whether she should have allowed her story to be told in the BBC series, on the German Embassy London F/bk page, and eventually we connected up on the Z board.

Unfortunately Becky has been absent from the boards since this happened so she may not know this, but Paula and I have had a really interesting dialogue about her story; she really has been incredibly open and honest, and the discussions were enthralling, including whether she should write a book about her story, which will require a return to Germany to see the files the Stasi kept on her. That decision is now hers to make.

I can give the link here to anyone who wishes to read our conversations...just let me know.

There is a book recommended for those interested in knowing more about the Stasi, it is an excellent account by Anna Funder...first published by Granta in 2003 and reprinted, it is readily available; a further edition being published on lst September shows the interest that there still is in this subject.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2228 May 25 2011 by mobson.

No Mobson, your response to the zetaboards is entirely rational - I tried it and it was like being in a small, new, chrome and mirror pub with dozens of very drunk Daily Mail readers all shouting about their tiresome fixations. Inflated egos on gin and tonic. Welcome to civility.

Well for fear of sounding racist, the intermingling of the ex-R4 boards and the Asian Network boards is like oil and water! Suffice to say I was threatened more than once by one poster saying he was coming round to beat me up because I didn't agree with his point of view (and he was a co-administrator) seemingly not knowing how to discuss anything rationally! Life's too short to have to contend with that sort of behaviour from an avatar on the internet, it's enough to have to deal with discordant behaviour in real life!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2213 May 25 2011 by mobson.

If only they had put as much effort into promoting R7.

Preach, Ivor! It would have been cheaper, more effective and a made a whoooole lotta people much happier.


I did hear most of that Writing the Century series, Mobson. I almost cried during that scene when she crawled into his bed. Very moving. This was especially poignant for me because I know how hard it was just for my son to get his now wife here to the States from Hungary, and this was just a few years ago. I can't imagine what that was like for the two in that program. Just about break your heart.

I would be very interested in that link if you'd still like to post it. Thanks!



Welcome to civility.

Well......most of time

Its all hell and brimstone over on the Z boards this morning! So I've crept in quietly to retrieve the 'Writing the Century' thread....The Iron Curtain. I hope you enjoy reading it.

[s4.zetaboards.com]

Thanks, Mobson

mobson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Similar in subject to the film discussed here, was
> a programme called The Iron Curtain, broadcast as
> part of 'Writing the Century' series in R4 Woman's
> Hour drama slot earlier this month. Did anybody
> listen to it? The drama was inspired by the
> diaries of Paula Kirby, who at the age of 21,
> fresh out of University, went to teach English in
> East Germany in the 1980's and her correspondence
> with one of her pupils, paediatric surgeon Knut
> Loffler. Over the 5 episodes we get to hear how
> they fell in love and wanted to marry; for 2 years
> he tried to come to live in the west, as he was an
> academic the Stasi were very hard on him and
> threatened serious consquences, and after all the
> struggles they endured to try to get permission
> for him to leave, things became too stressful and
> they parted, but kept in contact, until the new
> Millenium saw them agree to reunite...however,
> just before Paula left England, Knut's daughter
> rang to say he had been killed in a car accident.
> Paula went to say goodbye and some 2,000 people
> were at his funeral to pay their respects to this
> wonderful, kind man. On the night of his funeral,
> Paula slept in his bed, and even used his
> toothbrush, so desolate was she at his passing.
>
> I posted interest in the series on Z m/bs radio
> drama section; becky sharp and I continued to post
> how much we were enjoying this series and when it
> finished, how sad we were to hear the ending.
>
> Becky & I then decided to find out more about the
> couple. Knut was impossible to find information
> on (as explained by Paula later in our
> correspondence) but Becky found Paula easily as
> she is a writer, specialising in freethinking and
> secular organisations. She also writes for the
> Washington Post amongst other things. I found
> her expressing doubts about whether she should
> have allowed her story to be told in the BBC
> series, on the German Embassy London F/bk page,
> and eventually we connected up on the Z board.
>
> Unfortunately Becky has been absent from the
> boards since this happened so she may not know
> this, but Paula and I have had a really
> interesting dialogue about her story; she really
> has been incredibly open and honest, and the
> discussions were enthralling, including whether
> she should write a book about her story, which
> will require a return to Germany to see the files
> the Stasi kept on her. That decision is now hers
> to make.
>
> I can give the link here to anyone who wishes to
> read our conversations...just let me know.
>
> There is a book recommended for those interested
> in knowing more about the Stasi, it is an
> excellent account by Anna Funder...first published
> by Granta in 2003 and reprinted, it is readily
> available; a further edition being published on
> lst September shows the interest that there still
> is in this subject.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Was lovely to see Paula got in touch,Mobs,via the thread

Russ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One of my favourites! I'm waiting for it to
> re-appear on TV, so if anyone spots it coming
> round again, give a shout.
>
> Russ
=====================================================================

It's on tonight on BBC2 at 11-30,Russ....hope you see this before it's too late.