Kein Bund fürs Leben
This 2007 comedy features Franz Dinda, Florian Lukas, and Axel Stein in a series of unfortunate events that brings a young high school graduate into the military. Franz Dinda is our main character. He’s also…
Der Besuch der alten Dame (2008)
Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s Der Besuch der alten Dame has been filmed a few times throughout film history, dating back to the early years of the star actress’ career, actually. This particular version stars Christiane Hörbiger as…
Nach Fünf im Urwald
This early Franka Potente film (1995) is a classic rom-com, focused on the issues of teenagers. This was Potente’s first professional film. Alongside Franka Potente is Axel Milberg. We may know him from the Fifth…
Das doppelte Lottchen (1950)
Narrated by Erich Kästner himself, this version’s screenplay was adapted from his book himself. Lotte and Luise are played by twins Isa and Jutta Günther. This was the first film for both girls, and they…
Kinderzauber
This 2016 fantasy is directed by Ruth Rieser. This film is not filled with A list or well-known actors, but instead focuses on the imagination of a child in the world of the circus. This…
Schiller
This 2005 film stars Matthias Schweighöfer as Friedrich Schiller. It is marketed as a biography-drama, which focuses on Schiller’s early life. Alongside Schweighöfer is Teresa Weißbach, whom we may know from Sonnenallee, Winnetous Weiber, and…
Das Superweib
This 1996 comedy, directed by Sönke Wortmann, stars Veronika Ferres and Joachim Król. Richy Müller plays Papai. He can also be found in the Vampirschwestern series, Anleitung zum Unglücksein, Die Schatzinsel, Zwischen Nacht und Tag,…
Krabat
Taking place during the 30 years war in Germany, this 2008 Thriller starring Daniel Brühl is a German remake of a Czechoslovakian film from 1978, where a boy learns of the dark arts from a…
Lila Lila
Currently available on Amazon, this 2009 film stars Daniel Brühl as a shy waiter who claims to have written a popular manuscript. Alongside Brühl is Hannah Herzsprung, playing Marie. She’s been in a range of…
Schule
This 2000 comedy with Daniel Brühl centers around the last few weeks of school before the Abitur. Besides Brühl, several other well-known faces show their younger versions here. Denis Moschitto, Axel Stein, Niels-Bruno Schmidt (of…
Erkan & Stefan
This 2000 Bullyparade-related film is one of several plots in the “Erkan und Stefan” line. In fact, John Friedmann’s acting stage name was Erkan Maria Moosleitner, until his real identity was discovered. His “partner in…
Bis Gleich
This 2014 short film (also available on Amazon), marketed as a Drama-Romance, shows us a likely familiar story – the views of the neighborhood and how one variable of this time affects our view. Some…
Duell der Brüder – Die Geschichte von Adidas und Puma
This 2016 Docu-Drama tells the story of two brothers, Adi and Rudi Dassler, whose brotherly relationship deteriorated in such a way that resulted in the formation of two popular athletic shoe companies. Adi is played…
Dracula: Die wahre Geschichte der Vampire
This 2013 ZDF production is marketed as a historical documentary. It’s also currently available on Amazon Prime – get your Halloween viewing in while it’s available! This film is only 44 minutes long. It’s very…
Jack the Ripper
This 2016 thriller (available on Amazon Prime in its original German!) centers around the story of the Whitechapel murders. Sonja Gerhardt, whom we know from Sommer and die wilden Hühner, plays our main character, Anna…
Crazy
This 2000 drama centers around a partially paralyzed* teenager who transfers to a boarding school. We follow him as he learns how to settle in his new surroundings. Robert Stadlober is our main character, Benjamin.…
666 – Traue keinem, mit dem du schläfst
This 2002 film is a comedy version of Goethe’s Faust, featuring Jan Josef Liefers and Armin Rohde. Jan Josef Liefers plays Faust. He got his start acting in the DDR, and we’ve likely seen him…
Die Unsichtbaren
This 2017 historical drama focuses on the Jews still living in Germany in 1943, when Goebbels declared German “Jew-free.” This is based on 4 true stories, and the young people who survived this time were…
Die Macht der Bilder: Leni Riefenstahl
This 1993 documentary covers the life of Leni Riefenstahl, detailing not only her involvement in the propaganda of WWII, but also attempts to understand her as an artist without the bias of history. It is…
Meine schöne Bescherung
This 2007 Christmas comedy centers around a “patchwork” family, who all comes together to celebrate Christmas. Alongside Martina Gedeck and Heino Ferch, many other familiar faces show up in this film. Jazmin Tabatabai, whom we…
Der Bockerer
This 1981 film (Teil I) is the story of a butcher and his navigation of his new – Nazi – surroundings. This post also covers Teil II, Österreich ist frei, which was released in 1996.…
Die Grenze
This 2010 film starring Benno Fürmann, Katja Riemann, and Thomas Kretschmann is a drama set in modern day, centered around politics. Marie Bäumer is a name we should know by now. One of the main…
Die Halbstarken
This 1996 Til Schweiger film is about teenage rebels and their dreams for easy money. There’s not much to say about this film, honestly. It was a TV Movie, and most of the actors remained…
Bibi und Tina
The 2014 film is the first in a series of four musical-style films dating through 2017. All are part of the Bibi Blocksberg storylines, but take place when Bibi is a teenager. This post will…
Steiner – Das eiserne Kreuz, 2. Teil
Although this 1979 film is originally in German, English, and French, carries an original German title, was produced in West Germany, and stars several German speaking actors, it is obvious with the dubbing quality that…
Die Freunde der Freunde
This 2002 film featuring Matthias Schweighöfer, Florian Stetter, and Jessica Schwarz, explores relationships of all types. There is some interesting styling in the video for this film, which may make for an interesting discussion in…
Die wilden Kerle 4
This is the fourth film of a series of six. The post for the first film can be found Here. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten my hands on the rest of the films yet – keep…
Nichts bereuen
This 2001 film featuring Daniel Brühl, Jessica Schwarz, and Denis Moschitto is a romantic comedy about a young man who tries to win the attention and affection of a former high school classmate. As far…
Die wilden Hühner
This post will cover the first film, released in 2006. There is a post for the final film at Die wilden Hühner und das Leben. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten my hands on the middle film,…
Heil
This 2015 comedy is satire, showing an African-German who loses his memory and begins being used by Neo-Nazis. Director Dietrich Brüggemann has also directed YouTube videos on the topic of xenophobia and homophobia, which he…
Judgement at Nuremberg
This 1961 U.S. film covers the trials of the war crimes of WWII. This film is originally in English. The German dubbing is – shall we say tolerable, especially given the release year. Featuring Spencer…
Der Untergang
This 2004 film starring Bruno Ganz shows the final days of Hitler as reported by his last secretary. It is important to remember the 1955 film, Der letzte Akt, which also used Traudl Junge as…
Jerry Cotton
This 2010 comedy is a parody of crime movies such as Bond films, centered in the FBI. Think Johnny English. The most famous faces we see may be Christian Tramitz, Christiane Paul, Moritz Bleibtreu, Heino…
Zwei Weihnachtsmänner
This 2008 romantic comedy follows the trip home for two very different men. It’s a great lesson in attitude! This post covers both Teil 1 and Teil 2. I wouldn’t recommend one without the other,…
Unser bester Mann
This 1983 East German comedy follows a sort of clumsy and socially awkward man in Berlin in his quest to find an attractive young lady and starts a new job. This film has some fun…
Das weiße Band
This 2009 historical drama features Christian Friedel and a village full of people who all seem to know something more than any outsider. It leads us down a path of suspenseful mystery and we untangle…
Das kleine Gespenst
Taken from Otfried Ostpreußler’s children’s book, this 2013 film stars a little ghost who awakes at night to have his adventures. Caspar fans should particularly enjoy this film! Potentially the most famous of the cast…
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
This 1997 Til Schweiger film is billed as a criminal comedy, but could just as easily be labeled a drama-comedy. It centers around two terminally ill men and the choices they make before they die.…
Kartoffelsalat
This 2015 Otto Waalkes film is a comedy/horror. It features similar humor as Scary Movie meets Napoleon Dynamite, for reference. Besides Otto, many of the cast have only ever been in this film, or have…
Der Krieger und die Kaiserin
This film, released in 2000, is full of A-list actors, and of course the famous Tom Tykwer as director. It is billed as a drama-romance. Taking place in a mental institution, the setting lends itself…
Free Rainer
This 2007 film with Moritz Bleibtreu centers around a TV manager who is frustrated due to the bad shows he is forced to show. We see some interesting dreams this causes him to have as…
Coming In
This 1997 film with Franka Potente is the story of a gay man who begins questioning his sexuality. Stefan Wink plays the Assistent/partner Lorenz. His career began in the early 1990s. He followed this film…
Buddy
This 2013 Michael “Bully” Herbig comedy is the story of a man who thinks he’s going crazy because he sees someone no one else can see. Another romantic comedy with a stereotypical bachelor, this time…
Barfuss
This 2005 Til Schweiger film is a romantic comedy surrounding a stereotypical bachelor and an escaped mental patient. He shows her the world outside of the mental hospital, including how to take the bus or…
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
This 2008 Moritz Bleibtreu film is based on the true story of the Red Army Faction (RAF) and its actions during the 1960s and 70s. The styling of this film makes it look like a…
Berlin ‘48
This documentary shows Germany in the post-war era, especially focusing on the Berlin Airlift. This particular documentary was originally in English and the titles and other written information are not translated into German. I’m writing…
Bullyparade der Film
This 2017 film version of Bullyparade brings back all of the favorite stories! Much of the cast is the same as the Bully films and show tend to be. One important addition is Anette, played…
7 Zwerge: Der Wald ist nicht genug
It had been so long since I had originally written the post on the first film that I had forgotten I meant to write these separately! This 2006 sequel stars most of the same actors…
1 1/2 Ritter
This 2008 Til Schweiger comedy takes hits at Knight’s Tale and plenty of other pieces of culture and history. As in many of Til Schweiger’s films, this one is filled with familiar faces for the…
Das Boot
The story of life in an U-Boot during the war, this 1981 film explores the psyche and trials of the men serving their country under the sea. Giving a different view of the war from…