The Life of Another

Seanachie was an admirer of the winner of this year's Oscar for Best Foreign-language Film, the German Stasi thriller, The Lives of Others, and he is sad to hear of the death from cancer of its star Ulrich Mühe, at the age of 54. Mühe played the ruthless Stasi captain Gerd Wiesler whose exceptional change of heart spares one of his prey, and in real life was himself spied upon by the Stasi in East Germany, including, allegedly, his late wife, who died six months ago. The Independent has more on his death.