Trivia / The Lives of Others

• Actor Allusion: Christa's alias in the Stasi files is "Marta". The titular character of the German film Mostly Martha is one of Martina Gedeck's most famous roles.
• Cast the Expert: The cover of the suicide issue for Der Spiegel was created by none other than the art department of Der Spiegel, to ensure it would match their art standards.
• Follow the Leader: Watch The Front before this film to catch some similarities.
• Reality Subtext:
  • Many people involved in the film-making had a history with East Germany, having lived there, having had relatives living there and having been, naturally, spied on by agents of The Stasi. Notably, the film's star, Ulrich Mühe, was under surveillance and later found out that his (then) wife was a registered informant on him (though she apparently didn't know the man she provided informations to was a Stasi agent). When asked how he prepared for the role, he simply answered "I remembered."
  • Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck wrote the role specifically for Mühe - it ended up being his command performance as he died not long after the film was released.

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