RIP, Ulrich Muehe

Ulrich Muehe, the star of The Lives of Others, died over the weekend at the age of 54. As I commented here, I thought the film was outstanding. Even without understanding a word of German, I had no problem catching the subtleties of Muehe's performance as aStasi agent who goes from being a cipher of the state, who can observe but not live, to a human forced to recognize the inhumanity of East Germany. That Muehe has gone so soon after this triumph is its own tragedy, but he has left us with an amazing work of art.