The Decomposition of the Soul (2007)

Synopsis: The praise afforded to THE LIVES OF OTHERS--Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's remarkable film about life in the former East Berlin--helped this documentary about East Germany's secret police force... The praise afforded to THE LIVES OF OTHERS--Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's remarkable film about life in the former East Berlin--helped this documentary about East Germany's secret police force gain a release in February 2007. With shades of Werner Herzog's LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY, co-directors Massimo Iannetta and Nina Toussaint bring two former prisoners back to the site of the notorious Berlin-Hohenschonhausen prison (which has now become a museum), a place where they were once detained and subjected to unimaginable physical and psychological torture at the hands of the Ministry for State Security, also known as the Stasi. The two people, Sigrid Paul and Hartmut Richter, return separately to Hohenschonhausen, where they recall their lives both before and after their arrests, and explain the Orwellian nightmare of everyday life at the hands of the Stasi. Iannetta and Toussaint's film is a remarkable piece of work, and is likely to gain strong word-of-mouth acclaim as its reputation spreads. A powerful voiceover from deceased poet and fellow former prisoner Jurgen Fuchs joins Paul and Hartmut's recollections, many of which focus on the minutiae of life in Hohenschonhausen. It's this attention to detail that gives the film its weight, especially when coupled with Iannetta and Toussaint's dimly lit frames, which provide an unnervingly realistic feeling of what life under the Stasi was actually like. The film is also remarkably free of noise, with the soundtrack composed almost entirely from the sound of the human voice--a short song playing over the end credits is the only music of note. THE DECOMPOSITION OF THE SOUL is documentary filmmaking at its very best. [More]

Starring: Sigrid Paul, Hartmut Richter

Starring: Sigrid Paul, Hartmut Richter

Director: Nina Toussaint, Massimo Iannetta

Director: Nina Toussaint, Massimo Iannetta

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