Thomas Thieme Movies

Theodor Fontane's seminal, tragic 1894 novel Effi Briest received numerous screen adaptations up through the early 21st century, including (most prominently) a 1974 feature from Rainer Werner Fassbinder that emerged as one of the hallmarks of the New German Cinema. The 2009 version emerged at the hands of director Hermine Huntgeburth, and stars Julia Jentsch as Effi von Briest, a Prussian adolescent swept up in the throes of high society during the late 19th century. At the outset of the tale, Effi's mother, Luise (Juliane Koehler) sets her up with a romantic suitor decades older than she, Baron von Instetten (Sebastian Koch), with whom Luise herself has a history of romantic involvement. In truth, Effi passionately loves her cousin Dagobert (Mirko Lang), and has promised to dance with him, but she bows to social conventions by dancing instead with the Baron, and before long the nobleman gamely asks for her hand in marriage, which she obliges - again, solely out of respect for societal norms. They move to a port village together and Effi falls into a miserably unhappy lifestyle - until she experiences physical satisfaction via an affair with a handsome militaryman, Major Crampass (Misel Maticevic). Alas, their limited relationship ultimately leaves Effi with even greater feelings of emptiness. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A man who has devoted his life to ferreting out "dangerous" characters is thrown into a quandary when he investigates a man who poses no threat in this drama, the first feature from German filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. It's 1984, and Capt. Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) is an agent of the Stasi, the East German Secret Police. Weisler carefully and dispassionately investigates people who might be deemed some sort of threat to the state. Shortly after Weisler's former classmate, Lt. Col. Grubitz (Ulrich Tukur), invites him to a theatrical piece by celebrated East German playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), Minister Bruno Hempf (Thomas Thieme) informs Weisler that he suspects Dreyman of political dissidence, and wonders if this renowned patriot is all that he seems to be. As it turns out, Hempf has something of an ulterior motive for trying to pin something on Dreyman: a deep-seated infatuation with Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), Dreyman's girlfriend. Nevertheless, Grubitz, who is anxious to further his career, appoints Weisler to spy on the gentleman with his help. Weisler plants listening devices in Dreyman's apartment and begins shadowing the writer. As Weisler monitors Dreyman's daily life, however (from a secret surveillance station in the gentleman's attic), he discovers the writer is one of the few East Germans who genuinely believes in his leaders. This changes over time, however, as Dreyman discovers that Christa-Maria is being blackmailed into a sexual relationship with Hempf, and one of Dreyman's friends, stage director Albert Jerska (Volkmar Kleinert), is driven to suicide after himself being blackballed by the government. Dreyman's loyalty thus shifts away from the East German government, and he anonymously posts an anti-establishment piece in a major newspaper which rouses the fury of government officials. Meanwhile, Weisler becomes deeply emotionally drawn into the lives of Dreyman and Sieland, and becomes something of an anti-establishment figure himself, embracing freedom of thought and expression. A major box-office success in Germany, Das Leben der Anderen (aka The Lives of Others) received its North American premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide