I noticed that several of the films vying for awards in Europe right now are about terrorism, detention and secret police:

But The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen ) managed to come on strong, winning the top prize and capturing two others: best actor for Ulrich Muehe and best screenwriter for director Florian Henckle von Donnersmark.

“It means a lot to me to get this award here, since my father was born in this country,” said von Donnersmarck.

The Lives of Others, set in 1984, explores the system of control imposed by the East German secret police, the Stasi, and the lives it destroyed. It follows a policeman who becomes immersed in the lives of a playwright and his girlfriend whom he is spying on.

Other films in contention included the British movie Road to Guantanamo directed by Michael Winterbottom and The Wind That Shakes the Barley, a film about the IRA directed by Ken Loach.

But will they play in the US?