This story takes a few well worn themes, the romance threatened by the unwanted intervention of a self-centered powerful figure, the voyeuristic thriller and the awakening of somebody to a wider understanding of the truth. 

What makes this film stand out is how these plot devices or contrivances are played out in a totally atypical manner, this and the excellent performances, Ulrich Mhe in particular make this a film well worth seeing.

Any man can truly believe he is doing the right thing, that what he does is for the common good. Gerd Wiesler is such a man, indistinctive, of little imagination and just accepting of the facts surrounding him. The sudden awareness that he is serving a purpose for all the wrong reasons turns him from protector of the state to guardian angel of a playwright and his lover, much to his own personal cost. 

The final 20 minutes or so are where the story could have fallen into many of the standard routines so beloved of mainstream cinema but these are skillfully avoided leaving the feeling that you have witnessed something out of the ordinary, indeed something extraordinary.

A thumbs up for a film that delivers. 

Cheers Trev.