The Vehicles of The Lives of Others

I can't believe that William F. Buckley and I have the same taste in movies, but we both think The Lives of Others is one of the best movies ever made. Ulrich Muhe's performance was extraordinary. It was like watching a German version of Kevin Spacey, but without the ego, the snarky facial expressions, or the multi-million dollar salary. The story, the message, and the ending blew me away.

This movie was made with a budget of less than $2 million. The period sets (mid-80s Eastern bloc) were exact down to the smallest detail, such as the frame of old man Honecker's portrait hung in the background. The filmmaker could have taken the easy route and just called up the local Trabant club to decorate the street scenes. But no. The detail-obsessed will note the variety and quality of the vehicles in the background. Since imcdb.org does not have a listing for this movie yet, I'll dissect some of the vehicles that piqued my interest.

Minister Hempf's Volvo limousine. Rather than a Russian-made ZIL, the Polish elite rode in stretched Volvo's. Even the most powerful men in East Germany had slow, boring cars. But at least they were reliable and not made of wool or cotton, like the ubiquitous Trabants.


Paul Hauser's West German Uncle's W126. In contrast to the unglamorous, and let's face it, shitty, cars of East Germany, Paul's uncle drove a powerful and roomy Mercedes sedan. The gold W126 "personified" West Germany. It was confident, strong, and rich.


The Stasi's Barkas delivery truck. CMS was transported to her interrogator in a Barkas delivery truck. These little putt-putt utility vehicles had three cylinder, two stroke engines displacing a mind-blowing 992 cc's. Unbelievably, they served their drivers well and carried East Germany forward into the 1990s, almost.


Wiesler's Lada. Square. Anonymous. Bland. Reliable. Socialist. These words describe both the movie's protagonist and his Lada.


Now go and rent the movie! It's out on video.

CKY