Florian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (German: [ˈfloː.ʁi.aːn ˈhɛŋ.
Krzysztof Kieślowski's 'Decalogue' influenced his approach to moral complexity, and Roberto Rossellini's 'Rome, Open City' and Vittorio De Sica's 'Bicycle Thieves' inspired the realistic portrayal of human suffering, all contributing to his filmmaking for 'The Lives of Others'.