We have a full sized movie theatre in Anchorage, it languished for many years but was bought up by one of the better examples of modern service business, a higher quality lower stress type of business which took an original full size movie theatre, and instead of breaking it into mini rooms each showing a flick, left the large space open, took out every other row of seats to install tables, purchased a liquor license, and now sells pizza and finger food and beer to go with the movie or performance experience. (Ebbie, of course I'm talking about the Beartooth if you come to Anchortown)

Which is not the subject of this thread.

Last week I saw The Lives Of Others. I thought it was a simple plot based on an incredible piece of history: The extreme measures the East German government took to pry into the lives of its citizens, establishing a vast institution of the bureacracy and incorporating an even vaster network of informants, to the point where anyone of any notoriety in the country could seriously wonder if they were bugged or if any of their friends were reporting on them to the government, or both.

The movie didn't quite 'sanitize' the history, but it did present a situation configured to draw audience sympathy to certain of the characters. In retrospect, I don't find this objectionable, because otherwise I don't know if they'd have a marketable story. The story does bring out the state apparatus of spying on its citizens, and some of the after effects once the wall came down.

It makes me curious as to whether all Eastern Block countries had systems like this, and if not why did the East German government go to such extremes?

In Germany are the passions dying down? Has everything come to light?

All in all, very good movie, well worth seeing.