Question about 'The Lives of Others'

[bevo barry]

The night after our loss to Alabama we decided to unwind and watch a movie; a long time ago I had heard about how good "The Lives of Others" was and had purchased the DVD but just never got around to watching the flick. The movie was so good that it actually made me forget about the BCS game for a while... and I sure enjoyed seeing the Longhorns sticker on the back windshield of that automobile relatively late in the movie!

Here's my question: the very last line of the movie, spoken by Weisler (spelling?) seems to be spoken in English. Of course, the film is subtitled and the subtitle read something like "No. This is for me". I could swear that Weisler said "Nein... it is for me".

Did he actually speak English or does that phrase in German just happen to be similar-sounding to the English version?

 

[RomaVicta]

Outstanding movie. Sorry, I don't remember the last line. I need to rent it soon.

 

[mcbrett]

I saw it too- one of the better movies. If you have the DVD, watch it again to answer your last line question...

Not many movies have covered this topic, and this era (1980's Germany)

 

[notreally]

great movie. loved it. i don't know german though.

 

[123456789012345]

I saw that movie and wondered at that also. I'm sure that last line was in English, but I don't know why.

 

[bevo barry]

mcbrett...I did replay that scene over several times (I do have the DVD). But I am somewhat hearing impaired (it is a ***** getting old), particularly when it comes to the range of hearing/sound that involves conversation. Turning up the volume did not help. And my friends/family (many of whom are old and getting deaf like me) had the same problem. We just could not tell. That is why I posted this.

And if it was in English, why was that, in a movie that was otherwise entirely in German?

 

[Dionysus]

Terrific film. I don't recall that last line but now I want to rent it again. And I didn't notice a Longhorn sticker on a car but I'll look for it this time.

 

[Dionysus]

This got me to thinking so I looked on YouTube and found a clip of the ending (below). It sounds like he does say "this is for me" in English, unless the German pronunciation of this phrase sounds like English, as bevobarry suggested.

YouTube Link - Lives of Others ending

 

[bevo barry]

Dio...the scene with the Longhorn decal on a rear car window is near the end...one of the characters is walking in a parking lot and there are about 4 cars parked...the car to the right has the sticker. Look fast; it is there for maybe 5 seconds.

 

[AugieBall]

It's been a while, but I am pretty sure he says "es ist fuer mich" which means "it is for me." They sound very similar.

 

[Hornius Emeritus]

AugieBall nailed it. That is what he says.

"Lives of others" may be the best movie I have ever seen.

So sad that Ulrich Muhe was dying of stomach cancer as the movie was being filmed.

 

[TexasTower]

I saw this movie in the theater and loved it. Thanks for reminding me of it... I need to search it down and watch again.