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When human beings spend an inordinate time closely observing other human beings, odd things happen. Theories drawing on ideas from nonlinear dynamic systems such as intersubjective theory and attachment theory—in which mutual influence functions as a prominent engine of human connection and development—would suggest that changes will occur both in the observers and the observed. The Lives of Others, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's movie about Orwellian life in the now happily defunct German Democratic Republic (GDR), powerfully illustrates the process of mutual influence. It demonstrates the unpredictability and surprise of human change that dynamic systems theory posits.
The Lives of Others is a multi-plotted film with clear political and human values but with complicated major characters, who do not fall easily into simple moral categories. For a serious movie about serious subjects and people and processes, however, The Lives of Others is great fun. The fun is that along with Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), the Stasi security captain, we get a feast of voyeuristic pleasures. These pleasures operate on several levels simultaneously. First, through the laser-like, suspicious eyes of Wiesler, we view the world of Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), a successful playwright and favorite talent of the state. At the same time, through the contexts of our own Western lives, we also observe Dreyman. He is a thoughtful, decent, gregarious