The human ability to perceive sound is often taken for granted and is mistakenly considered by most to be of secondary importance compared to sight. It is true that our primary understanding of the world develops through sight, but sound is responsible for our ability to communicate with each other through both concrete and abstract means, as well as defining the nuances that shape our surroundings. Without sound, humans would be alienated in their uncertainty; incapable of expressing the fears and aspirations common to our condition. Sound has the unique ability to transcend borders, cultures and ideologies through speech, music and noises that we categorically distinguish through memory and experience. It is this transcendental quality of sound that Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck chose as a central theme in the film “The Lives of Others”. The film beautifully expresses the effect that music and language have on our ability to feel empathy and compassion. The film's use of sound explores the human potential for change and transformation from our most basic instincts towards nobler causes. The film is about change and every sound element works to reinforce that theme. The opening sequence uses an audio recording of a prisoner's interrogation to transcend space and time. The scene links the sound of the actual interrogation, where the sound is synchronized with the prisoner speaking the words, to a training session for future interrogators, where the sound is now simultaneous with the recording of the interrogation. The relevance of this recording is used to instruct students in the art of extracting information and confessions from enemies of the state. The theme of change is stated when in...... middle of paper......niment.The Lives of Others experimented with the use of sound as an element to convey narrative structure and did so brilliantly . The use of music is an achievement that celebrates the arts as an essential part of our human condition. If the right to express ourselves freely is imposed on us, we can no longer communicate our deepest thoughts and no longer discover that we are all united by the same qualities. Our need for love and companionship transcends our political aspirations or ideological shortcomings. We are human and we need other human beings to give our lives a deeper and richer meaning than simple solitary reflections or an ideal world. This film took these ideas and expressed them with a piece of music that could break down the wall around the human heart and serve as a symbol for the larger global issue of the fall of the Berlin Wall..