When dreyman tracks down wiesler , was actually delivering a mail .First dreyman tries to get down and speak to him,but after a moment of thought he doesn't speak to him.Can any one give a reason why he doesn't want to speak to him?.I felt a little sad over this.
shareSomehow he couldn't bring himself to face a person who saved him from the clutches of the Stasi and ended up ruining his own career. But he thanked him nonetheless! What happens after that is left to own interpretation
shareI think Dreyman realized, what would he say to Weisler? "Thanks for saving me from prison, and from this crappy job you're doing I see it came at great personal cost"? I think he realized that it would just be so awkward. So he thanked Weisler the way Weisler would want to be thanked.
You must be the change you seek in the world. -- Gandhi
I think Dreyman wanted to keep it safe in case authorities were still lurking around and did not want to stir up more trouble. I mean what he can say to the man who saved his life. He found the best way to thank Wiesler was to dedicate the book to Wiesler using his ID number.
sharemoviefn, you are definately mistaken with the first part of your answer. No more authorities lurking around... anyone still feeling confined after GDRs downfall would have simply left east germany or east berlin for that matter.
Still i cant really fathom the idea behind his decision not to confront/thank him directly. Clearly if you feel pity for someones lifestyle and job, thanking him for saving your life would cheer him up.
I think he wasn't sure what he could say to they guy. He was a writer ... at a loss of words. I'm sure there were a millions things he wanted to say to wiesler yet no proper way of letting them out, which is why he expressed himself through his novel far better than he could have done with words at that time.
u got it!
shareWow mirkea, you put it really well, a writer at a loss for words.. i also had the same question, I agree with your answer :')
shareWiesler had an important job before but as you said when Dreyman tracks down him, founds him delivering mails(a less important job) and he was not in a good condition and looked helpless. so Dreyman thought meeting Wiesler at that circumstance may make him ashamed. Instead of meeting him, decided to thank him indirectly and in a way that deserves more
shareYes, l00, I think that's it. Not only did Dreyman realize that mere words couldn't express his gratitude to Wiesler for sacrificing his own career and station in life in order to save Dreyman's freedom, but he also realized that any face-to-face encounter with Wiesler would be awkward and perhaps embarrassing to Wiesler. It would cause Wiesler to lose face.
The dedication of his latest book to Wiesler was far more profound and appropriate than any personal encounter on the street could have been.
What I thought was even more profound about what Wiesler did was that, by not blowing the whistle about the article at the time, he was almost single-handedly responsible for that article leaving GDR and being published for the rest of the world. Even though this story is fictional, in the context of the film the publishing of that article was probably the first major step in the downfall of the "socialist" regime in East Germany.
What an incredible film. It took me a while to find the patience to sit through it; I initially tried watching it with a friend and it just didn't work. I had to watch it alone for the full effect, and how happy I am that I did. The depth of the issues that this movie addresses is truly amazing, especially when it managed to weave it into such a personal story.
They say, "Great minds think alike."share
I say, "Great minds think FOR THEMSELVES."
Yes, my sentiments exactly. I still remembered the final words in the film, where the guy behind the counter asked if the book was for a gift and Weisler replied, "No, it's for me." in the sense that the book was written for me and that's the best form of gratitude that Dreyman could possible pay back for saving his life.
shareMost especially as we, and Weisler know that Dreyman had not been able to write anything else in years. Weisler knew what a real significance it was for him!
[We're all mad here.]
Yes! I especially liked the way this was handled since they said Dreymann had not written anything since CSM's death.
shareThis scene also troubled and saddened me greatly. I, too, wish Dreyman had been able to thank Wiesler in person. But the answer provided here by "l00" is insightful and, I believe, the correct one. I also wish, however, in light of his obvious career success and presumed financial means, that Dreyman might help Wiesler monetarily. There are means for him to do this so as to preserve Wiesler's pride (e.g. anonymously sending him sums of cash, etc.)
In any case, this is a very special film, one I will view over and over. A well-deserved Academy Award, one which bestows honor on the Academy for awarding it. Congratulations and much gratitude to everyone involved in the film. So very tragic that Ulrich Mühe passed away much, much too soon. He was a brilliant actor. Rest in peace, Mr. Mühe, and thank you. Warm wishes for his family and loved ones.
I had some trouble with Dreyman's gratitude, since although Wiesler meant well, he was indirectly responsible for Christa's death. If he had called the border patrol initially (when they were "testing" Dreyman's apartment), Dreyman and friends would have known it wasn't safe to speak freely there.
There is another plot thread here, though, specifically Christa's own relationship with that minister (who can't resist mocking Dreyman years later over it). Even if Dreyman hadn't written the inflammatory article, perhaps the Stasi would have found some way to put pressure on Christa to inform on him, although he didn't seem to be guilty of any other "subversive" acts.
Clearly, given the dedication in the novel Dreyman writes, we are supposed to think that Wiesler was something of a guardian angel, to Dreyman at least, paying the price for his protection of Dreyman. However, if this is the case, then it still seems that Christa was a casualty of Wiesler's involvement. So yeah, maybe Wiesler kept Dreyman out of jail, but he also caused the death of the woman who mattered more to Dreyman than anything else.
I loved the movie, this just seemed to be something of an unresolved issue. Obviously Wiesler is a sympathetic character, heroic even, I just wish the filmmakers had dealt with this ambiguity. It's also possible I missed something, and I'd be happy to hear about it if so.
Pardon my lateness, but I just watched the film and want to suggest an explanation. I thought Wiesler's decision to turn a blind eye to the smuggling fell perfectly in line with his character development. His faith in the DDR regime had shaken, and he was beginning to sympathize with Dreyman and co. So to me, it doesn't make sense to hypothesize what could have happened if he had reported the smuggling to border patrol.
I also don't think Wiesler is responsible for Christa's death in any significant way. During the interrogation, Wiesler's eyes were trying to tell Christa that he was putting up an act, that she had to remember that he was that "good man" from the bar. That she didn't have to give any information. She was just oblivious to it. Also, it's possible that Christa would not have killed herself if she had stuck around and seen that the typewriter had been moved. She clearly felt guilty for betraying Dreyman, but she may have been pushed over the edge by the guilt of "knowing" that Dreyman would imprisoned because of her.
Since Christa was in confinement when the typewriter was moved, the Stasi/Grubitz would not have incriminated her for perjury (at least, in the film). Dreyman realized this and knew that Wiesler saw only two choices: leave the typewriter and allow Dreyman to be imprisoned, or move the typewriter and save both. So he thanked him for the intent behind his decision.
Not only would a face-to-face meeting have been awkward, it would have taken away from the happiness Wiesler felt at first seeing a book, written by the man he envied and saved (at great personal expense), dedicated to him. A meeting 2 years prior to the book's publication would have made Wiesler's discovery that Dreyman knew about him saving Dreyman's life so much less meaningful than a book dedicated to him. Remember that Dreyman is an author, and so the best way he can express his gratitude is by putting his words on paper.
shareCall me a cynic, but I think the director made it that way in order to make the end more poetic. Had Dreyman gone out, shaken Wiesler's hand, and thanked him, the scene would have been more realistic and normal. Normal, not mind-blowing. It's more touching the way the director did it (Wiesler discovered the book, saw the dedication, and knew that the book is for him).
"I can resist everything except temptations." - Oscar Wilde.
It would have been an awkward meeting and kind of intrusive from Weisler's pov. Who knows if he would want to meet Dreyman.
Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I don't think Hugo can track anything.