IELTS Speaking Part 2: Common Topics in Exam | Topic 1: Movie
Describe a movie you have watched in a cinema or at home
You should say:
When this movie is
Who you would want to watch with
What the movie is about
And explain why you want to watch this movie
Sample Answer:
It’s quite hard to say what my favorite movie is because there are quite a few
to choose from! But I would say that the one that made the strongest
impression on me is a German film called ‘The Lives of Others’.
This film is set in communist East Germany, shortly before the fall of the Berlin
Wall. At that time, the Stasi, the East German secret police, used to spy on all kinds of
people. The two main characters in the film are a playwright called Dreyman and a
Stasi spy called Weisler, whose job it is to keep Dreyman under 24-hour surveillance.
Weisler is supposed to be reporting back to his superiors at the Stasi in order to discredit
the playwright. However, he develops a strong sympathy for the playwright and his
girlfriend, and determines to protect them by not reporting anything significant. The
scenes in the film where it cuts from the colorful and interesting lives of Dreyman
and his friends to the lonely attic where Weisler is sitting really show the contrast
between the two men. The film is shot in such a way that it makes you believe you
are also spying on Dreyman, it even made me feel a bit guilty!
I like this film because it has fascinating, 3-dimensional characters, and
also the plot has plenty of twists. Right up until the end of the film, we are left
guessing how it could possibly end. It is also very thought-provoking because it
makes you wonder how many people working for the Stasi actually did protect the
people they were spying on.
As for the message it gives, I would say the main message is that we can find
kindness and humanity in the most unexpected of places. The film makes us realize
that nothing is ever black and white! The film also serves as a warning about the
dangers of an oppressive, paranoid regime and is perhaps quite pertinent in this
current age of mass surveillance.