This is by far my favourite film of the year. It is a tremendous tour-de-force in terms of acting and fine directing. This is a German film about East Germany (GDR) and the Stasi (the secret police) before the fall of the Iron Curtain. The totalitarian grip with which the people are governed is assisted by a system where neighbour spies on neighbour, and everyone has to be careful what they say. A professional Stasi agent is recruited to conduct non stop surveillance on a writer. This is done because one of the government ministers fancies his girlfriend, a stage actress. They want to find things they can use against him to have him arrested and to get him out of the way so that the minister can freely abuse the girl. Things, however, take a dramatic turn, when the agent who has been ordered to spy on the writer starts having moral thoughts about the man he is trying to incriminate. This is a tense film, but also one that is filled with the finer qualities about humanity without sentimentality, or patronizing. Sometimes we need reminding when we see what is happening around the world today. This is definitely one to watch. If you don't mind subtitles and want to watch a really well made film, I can't recommend this masterpiece enough.
