Assessment discussion of The Lives of Others: The first half of class is a discussion about the influence of the historical context of The Lives of Others. These questions may help prompt students:

• What historical events are portrayed in The Lives of Others?
  
• Are they all true?
  
• Which are true and which are not?
  
• What did you learn about East Germany and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck that you saw reflected in the film?
  
• Why is this context important? How does knowing the historical background of the country and the filmmaker change the way you see the film?
  

Since their responses should already be turned in, it will be helpful to review the students' responses. From these responses, choose particular interesting/competent portions of responses and have those students comment on what they have written.

Anticipatory set: Transition from the discussion of only historical context into discussing all the elements that they have practiced thus far by asking the students to also comment on the use of color, narrative structure, camera movement, depth of field, and characterization in The Lives of Others. The film is a good study of how all of these elements combine to create significant meaning.

Questions such as these may help prompt discussion:

• How was color used in the film?
  
• What did you notice about the opposition between warm colors and cool colors?
  
• How was the narrative structured? Was it chronological? Why do you think this choice was made?
  
• When did the camera move significantly? Why did it? What do you think motivated the camera to move? What was communicated to the audience through this movement?
  
• What did you notice about depth of field? Was the film shot predominantly in deep focus or selective focus? What was conveyed through this?
  

They may not be able to remember all of these aspects in The Lives of Others because they were focusing on history. However, these questions and this discussion may spark some thoughts about the film. In the end, it should lead into a discussion about how to draw together all the elements that they have learned so far.

Lecture: Quickly review the elements that they have learned and practiced thus far over the previous six lessons.

• Color – It can be used to emphasize certain things, delineate between two things, convey a mood, and so on.
  

• Narrative structure – It can add an additional psychological element to the film by organizing the events and scenes in particular ways. It can follow the traditional linear paradigm, or it can be non-linear, fragmenting the story for certain purposes.
  
• Camera movement – By moving, the camera also moves the spectator through the action. There are several reasons why a filmmaker may choose to move the camera or to keep it static, which create additional meaning in the film.
  
• Depth of field – By choosing to put certain things in focus, the filmmaker can direct the focus of the spectator. Deep focus puts multiple planes of action in focus, and the spectator has to decide where the main focus should be. This can add importance to relationships between planes of action.
  
• Characters – Character are portrayed in ways that convey many things. Complex characters possess multiple traits that operate simultaneously with the character, which can allow for ambiguity in the character. Shallow characters only have one or two traits, leaving the character's actions more definite and understandable.
  
• Historical context – The histories that influence filmmakers and the stories that they tell are very significant when seeking to understand a film. Background history can be an extremely significant element in adding meaning to a film.

With an understanding of these elements, the students are prepared to bring them all together to analyze a single film. This is far from being an exhaustive list of filmic elements. However, it should provide a good foundation for beginning to analyze films according to their multiplicity of elements.

“Up to this point, we have looked at concepts and definitions that should enable a filmgoer to analyze a film systematically. The critic approaches a film already knowing that formal patterns, such as repetitions and variations, will probably be important and should be examined. The critic will also be alert for principles of narrative and non-narrative form, and she or he will watch for salient uses of the various film techniques. The critic will also ground his or her claims in specific evidence from the film” (Bordwell and Thompson 413). Although these six elements are only the beginning, being able to draw these six elements together will provide a foundation on which more will be built in later lessons.

Discussion: After these remarks on bringing together everything taught thus far, prompt discussion about how this actually happens by asking questions such as:

• What other films have you seen that employ these multiple elements? How do they work together to create meaning and convey theme?
  
• What examples can you give of a film having a single theme supported by multiple elements?
  

Classroom practice: This discussion should prepare the class for the next segment of the lecture, in which the class will watch a clip from The Lives of Others. The clip from The Lives of Others (which could be the same as the clip shown in the last class) should help to reinforce and correct things already discussed in the earlier discussion during the anticipatory set.

To prepare the students, inform them that you will be watching a clip from The Lives of Others in order to bring everything together. Even though you already briefly discussed all the elements as used in the film, this practice should be more informed. This time they will be specifically looking for all of the elements utilized in the film. Thus, this attention should provide a beneficial experience in drawing everything together.

Check for understanding: After showing the clip, have students share their observations about how the elements were used in the clip and the meaning that was created. The questions that may help to prompt discussion are very similar to the ones above:

• How was color used in the film? What did you notice about the opposition between warm colors and cool colors?
  
• How was the narrative structured? Was it chronological? Why do you think this choice was made?
  
• When did the camera move significantly? Why did it? What do you think motivated the camera to move? What was communicated to the audience through this movement?
  
• What did you notice about depth of field? Was the film shot predominantly in deep focus or selective focus? What was conveyed through this?
  
• What significant events in the history of Germany influence this film? How are the characters' attitudes influenced by and representations of German history? How is the film influenced by the history of the director von Donnersmarck himself?
  
• How do all of these elements come together to create meaning in the film? What is the theme/overall meaning of the film?

 Introduction of Repentance: The practice with The Lives of Others should prepare the students to observe the combination of the six elements in Repentance, the film that they will watch during the week.

Background information: Repentance was made in 2006. It was co-written and directed by Tengiz Abuladze and is the last in a trilogy of films. The film was ready for release in 1984, but it was banned until 1987 (premiere in Cannes). After it was finally released, it was a success, and Gorbachev awarded Abuladze with the Order of Lenin and invited him to accompany him to New York. The first real Glasnost film. Stalin and the Communist party held control over Soviet cinema. Post-Stalinist cinema/art experienced “The Thaw” starting in 1956.

Two main themes: youth coming of age and revisionist views of war.

The Thaw was followed by the “stagnation” from about 1960 to the mid-'80s when the Party again exerted control. Mostly genre films were made during this time. This was followed by Glasnost—the period of “openness” introduced by Gorbachev.

The film begins with the death of a Georgian political leader—Varlam Aravidze. His corpse is unburied by Keti, who is eventually caught and put on trial. At the trial, she reveals that she unburied the corpse (which desecration of his body is considered to be extremely insulting in Georgian culture) because he could never be forgiven of the atrocities he committed as a leader. Then, through flashback, her past recollections of Varlam are shown, and it is revealed that he caused the death of her parents, who were artists. Artists were considered dangerous to the government, so her parents were under the watch and regulation of the government. Her father was arrested and tortured for little reason. Keti attributes the death of her parents fully to Varlam.

Clearly, Varlam represents Stalin, and the film explores the difficulties of life in the Soviet Union under Stalin. During his regime, tight control was placed on art, religion, and science. The film includes a quote from Einstein in which he says, “Shortly before his death, Einstein raised his voice for the last time to tell the world of the tragedy of a modern scientist. This was his testament: 'The fate of a modern scientist is tragic. His inspiration leads him to clarity and inner independence. By almost superhuman efforts he had forged a weapon of his own social enslavement and destruction of his personality. The situation even reached a point where the political authorities had muzzled him. Has the time really passed when the scientist's intellectual freedom and independent research could enlighten and enrich people's lives? Has he forgotten, in his blind quest for the scientific truth, about his moral responsibility before humanity and about his honour? Our world is under threat of a crisis the scope of which seems not to be realized by those in authority... The released power of the atom changed everything but our way of thinking, and thus we keep sliding down to a catastrophe never seen heretofore. For the mankind to survive, we have to learn to think in a new way. The most difficult task of our time is to avert this threat. At this decisive moment, I'll be appealing to you with all my feeble capacity.'”

This quote reveals the desire of this film to see changes in the Soviet Union. Like Stalin, Varlam sets himself up as a cult of personality and represents Stalin in other ways. The look of Varlam is a composite image of Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Beria, and even Charlie Chaplin's “great dictator.” These images are on the supplemental page of pictures.

To understand this film, students need to inform themselves of the historical period during which Stalin ruled the Soviet Union, and they need to learn about the historical period during which the film was made.

• Why was it not released in 1984?
  
• What happened between then and 1987 to allow it to be released?

They need to be aware of glasnost and perestroika, and they need to know the basics of Stalinism.

Film clip: After setting up the film, show a clip from the film itself. During the flashback, a political rally is shown in which Varlam is seen as the cult personality. Keti is a young girl, and her father obviously does not support Varlam. This is followed by a scene in the church which has become a repository for art (specifically seen in religious art) and science. Large scientific apparatuses are set up inside the church.

This portion of the film sets up some key components of the film that will prepare the students to recognize the elements used in the film and to recognize the surrealist influence on the film. Follow up the clip by asking students to share their observations about the elements seen in the clip. This discussion should help them be prepared to do their own investigation of the historical context and to look for the influence of that history as they watch the film on their own. Closure: This discussion should lead into a wrap-up about the six elements and how they work together in critical analysis. Re-emphasize the importance of how the elements create meaning in the film. Encourage them to do their own personal research before watching the film. Introduce the assessment assignment.

Each student will write a 2+ page response paper to their out-of-class screening of Repentance. It will be difficult to cover everything in 2 pages, but this will be minimum length of the paper. Their remarks should touch on all the elements that influence the film. The response papers should be turned in before the next class. Also, the first half of the next class will be a discussion about Repentance for which they should be prepared.

Written by Brett Stifflemire.