About this episode

This episode explores the film The Lives of Others and its themes of surveillance and authoritarianism in East Germany.

This episode looks at The Lives of Others, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s haunting exploration of surveillance, complicity, and the brittle architecture of authoritarian legality in the final years of the German Democratic Republic (GDR/East Germany). The critically acclaimed 2006 film examines how law can be co-opted into an instrument of domination, how bureaucratic routines of “security” normalize repression, and how small acts of resistance acquire profound moral weight under systems ...

People in this episode

Host: Jonathan Hafetz

Guests: Mark Drumbl, Barbora Hola

Topics covered

• surveillance
• authoritarian legality
• East Germany
• law and repression
• moral resistance

Keywords

• The Lives of Others
• surveillance
• authoritarianism
• East Germany
• law
• resistance
• Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: German Democratic Republic

Books & works: The Lives of Others

More episodes of Law on Film

• Small Things Like These (2024) (Guest: Sean Patrick Donlan) (episode 57) · April 21, 2026 · 42 min
• Syriana (2005): Special Commentary (Guest: Peggy McGuiness) · April 2, 2026 · 22 min
• The Killing Fields (1984) (Guest: Alexandra Meise) (episode 55) · March 10, 2026 · 1h 4m
• Conclave (2024) (Guest: Monsignor Raymond Kupke) (episode 54) · February 10, 2026 · 50 min
• Inglourious Basterds (2009) (Guest Renana Keydar) (episode 53) · January 20, 2026 · 48 min
• I'm Still Here (Brazil) (2024) (Guest: Isabela Amaral) (episode 52) · December 16, 2025 · 55 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Law on Film podcast page.