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Sample Answer:
It’s quite hard to say what my favourite movie is because there are quite a few to
choose from! But I would say that the one that made the strongest impression on
me is a German fil
m called ‘The Lives of Others’. This film is set in communist East
Germany,shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall. At that time, the Stasi, the East
German secret police, used to spy on all kinds of people. The two main characters
in the film are a playwright called Dreyman and a Stasi spy called Weisler, whose
job it is to keep Dreyman under 24 hour surveillance. Weisler is supposed to be
reporting back to his superiors at the Stasi in order to discredit the playwright.
However, he develops a strong sympathy for the playwright and his girlfriend, and
determines to protect them by not reporting anything significant. The scenes in the
film where it cuts from the colourful and interesting lives of Dreyman and his friends
to the lonely attic where Weisler is sitting really show the contrast between the two
men. The film is shot in such a way that it makes you believe you are also spying
on Dreyman, it even made me feel a bit guilty!
I like this film because it has fascinating, 3-dimensional characters, and also the
plothas plenty of twists. Right up until the end of the film, we are left guessing how
it could possibly end. It is also very thought-provoking
because it makes you
wonder how many people working for the Stasi actually did protect the people they
were spying on.
As for the message it gives, I would say the main
message is that we can find
kindness and humanity in the most unexpected of places. The film makes us
realise that nothing is ever black and white! The film
also serves as a warning
about the dangers of an oppressive, paranoid
regime and is perhaps quite
pertinent in this current age of mass surveillance.
