Die Nibelungen (Siegfried; Kriemhilds Rache)
These Fritz Lang films from 1924 follow the famous stories of Siegfried, beginning with the sword that he forged to slay the dragon. The actor playing King Etzel in Kriemhilds Rache probably goes down in…
Christiane F.: Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
This 1981 film features the music of David Bowie. There is a lot to be said about this film. It is very educational. From the underground culture in Berlin in this time to the struggles…
Die Fälscher
Based on Operation Bernhard, this 2007 war film with August Diehl and Karl Markovichs is the story of a Jewish man whose skills in counterfeiting become well known among the Nazis. This film shows various…
Stroszek
This Werner Herzog film, released in 1977 follows an alcoholic man emigrating to Wisconsin to begin a new life. The main character is played by Bruno S., who himself had a rough life. His mother…
Good Bye Lenin!
This 2003 film with Daniel Brühl sees the differences between East and West Germany through a different lens than most films. The premise of this one is a fragile mother who falls into a coma…
Nirgendwo in Afrika
Released in 2001, this film centers around a Jewish family that must leave 1930s Germany, settling in Kenya. Interestingly, the actress who plays Jettel, Juliane Köhler, also played Eva Braun in Der Untergang. Her husband…
M
Fritz Lang’s 1931 mystery/criminal thriller is among the final films he directed before leaving his wife, screenwriter Thea von Harbou, who became a member of the Nazi party in 1932, and emigrating to the U.S.…
Lore
This 2012 WWII film focuses on the survival of children and the struggles they must go through to make it happen. The truths of the war are slowly becoming clear to them as they travel.…
Das Mädchen Rosemarie
This 1996 TV movie is marketed as a historical drama. It focuses on the clash of classes, set in the 1950s. For a TV movie, this film does have some big-name actors. Then again, it…
In Tranzit
This 2008 movie was filmed in English in Russia. It was released directly to DVD, and considerably earlier in Russia than anywhere else. The film takes place in 1946 and follows German prisoners of war…
Der neunte Tag
This 2004 war film, somewhat based on a wartime diary, follows a priest into Dachau and for nine days of freedom in his home country of Luxembourg. Our priest is played by Ulrich Matthes, who…
Das Leben der Anderen
This 2006 film is based on the lives the Stasi watch – and of course, the lives of the Stasi members themselves. East German actor Ulrich Mühe plays our Stasi main character. Mühe died the…
Spione
This 1928 film directed by Fritz Lang is marketed as a romance-thriller. The music does a good job keeping the thriller feeling, even 90 years later. The leading lady Sonja was played by Gerda Maurus,…
Männerherzen
This 2009 film with Til Schweiger is a comedy revolving around men and their issues with women. This film has a sequel, released two years later. This post only reports on the first film. Along…
Nosferatu Phantom der Nacht (1979)
This Werner Herzog version of the classic 1922 Nosferatu (or, better stated, of Bram Stoker’s Dracula) features Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula. Lucy Harker in this version is played by the Paris-born actress Isabelle Adjani.…
Murder on the Bridge
This version of Dürrenmatt’s Der Richter und sein Henker, released in 1975, features Jon Voigt and Jacqueline Bisset. The original language is English, but the German dubbing is logical for the setting. The main character…
Ich bin dann mal weg
This 2015 film is based on a book of the same title, written by the main character, Hape Kerkeling, who does not play himself in this particular film. Devid Striesow plays Hape. We know him…
Amen.
This international collaboration was originally filmed in English, French, Italian, and German. It appears to play automatically in the originally filmed languages, switching from German to English with no other reason beyond the actors’ languages…
Der Prozess/ The Trial (1962)
An important note to start off: there is no a German version of Kafka’s book Der Prozess. The German film of this title, released in 1948, has a WWII focus. This production was done in…
Der Räuber Hotzenplotz
This 2006 retelling of the classic story features Armin Rohde as the title character. We’ve seen him in quite the variety of roles in German film, and can even be seen in English language films…
Fremde Haut
Known in the U.S. as Unveiled, this 2005 film shows the difficult lives of those seeking asylum. The main character, Fariba, is seeking asylum due to her persecution in her home country of Iran –…
Was tun, wenn’s brennt?
This 2001 Til Schweiger film focuses on Berlin in the 80s – and the punk life that dominated the era, and how that affected the (former) punks as the years went on. Next to Til…
Linie 1
This musical is very Berlin! It was released in 1988 and does a great job showing the different pros and cons of living in the free side of the city, as well as the judgement…
Hui Buh: Das Schlossgespenst
This film is half animated / half live-action and the combination works incredibly well for it! Released in 2006, this Bully (Michael Herbig) film is appropriate for children, but can be enjoyed by all ages.…
Lebenszeichen
Released in 1968, this Werner Herzog film is a drama done in the form of a documentary, and was his first feature film. As mentioned in the post on Woyzeck, Wolfgang Reichmann joins us again…
Er ist wieder da!
This 2015 film (currently available on Netflix as Look Who’s Back) is a satire/comedy – if Hitler unknowingly time travelled to modern day. Hitler is played by Oliver Masucci, who many of us know from…
Sonnenallee
This 1999 film focuses on life at the East-West Berlin border, specifically the teen lives of the times. As such, it has long since been used in German classrooms, though I have not used this…
Stereo
This 2014 film featuring Jürgen Vogel is a thriller. It is a bit of a mind-breaking storyline. Of course Jürgen Vogel and Moritz Bleibtreu are awesome in this film, as always. Petra Schmidt-Schaller also adds…
Vitus
This 2006 film has long since become a popular one among German teachers, largely due to its PG rating. It is a Swiss film, which means there are some characters who speak in Swiss German,…
Herz aus Glas
This 1976 Werner Herzog film is centered in a small village (and as such, some dialect and heavier accents are used), where the secret of the ruby glass dies with the maker. While many of…
Der Himmel über Berlin
Known in the U.S. by the name Wings of Desire, this 1987 film follows an angel watching over Berlin and its citizens and visitors. It is in both German and English, as Peter Falk plays…
Woyzeck
This 1979 Werner Herzog film starring Klaus Kinski is just one of the film versions of the Georg Büchner play, first performed in 1913. More on Klaus Kinski can be found in the post on…
Vortex
This short (45 minute) sci-fi film was released in 2001. It focuses on a futuristic criminal system, where criminals are sent to the Vortex. As such, there is violence from the beginning of the film…
Die Drei ??? Das verfluchte Schloß
Die Drei ??? (Fragezeichnen) is a long-standing program. It exists in audiobook form, young readers novels, of course in movies, and even in video games and has been in Germany since 1968. It was originally…
Türkisch für Anfänger
Using the same cast and characters as the show of the same name, this 2012 film is not a continuation of the story, but rather a reinventing of it. It begins as sort of a…
Falco: verdammt, wir leben noch
This 2008 film is based on the life of Austrian Falco (AKA Johann Hölzel). The film begins in English, in the Dominican Republic, where Falco lost his life. We then see little Hansi as a…
Der fast perfekte Mann
This 2013 comedy features Benno Fürmann as a man who sees his life as perfect and doesn’t like the idea of change. Of course that means his life is about to change drastically and he…
Vom Suchen und Finden der Liebe
This 2005 film features Moritz Bleibtreu as our main character, Mimi Nachtigal. Mimi’s love interest is Venus Morgenstern. The names alone show us a little romantic comedy influence, though the romance quickly dies off into…
Ein Freund von mir
This 2006 film features Daniel Brühl and Jürgen Vogel, two actors we’ve heard a lot about already. We start with a melancholy mood during a large celebration, which gives us an idea of the type…
Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei
This 2004 film is known in America by it’s English title, The Edukators. Young activists come together and perform interesting crimes against rich businessmen… Daniel Brühl, Julie Jentsch, and Stipe Erceg play our main characters.…
Lautlos
This 2004 film is a thriller. It’s about an assassin, played by Joachim Król. We see his life and the investigation of his work. Joachim Król is not only a busy actor, but also a…
One Way
Although this 2006 film was produced in Germany, it was originally in English and French. Til Schweiger is not only the main character, he is also the producer. We know him from many films, both…
Berlin 36
This 2009 film is marketed as a true story of the Olympics, 1936. Gretel Bergmann was the best high jumper of her time, but as a Jew, she did not want to return to Germany…
Buddenbrooks
This 2008 film is an adaptation of the Thomas Mann novel by the same name. Wikipedia actually has a good article on this book, even in the English article. It’s a story not unlike Pride and…
Kammerflimmern
Released in 2004, this film with Matthias Schweighöfer and Jessica Schwarz is marketed as a drama-romance. Another interesting cast member to take note of is Florian Lukas, who plays Richie. He was also in Good…
Der Steppenwolf
This film adaptation of Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf was released in 1974. It was originally done in English. Before the movie begins, there is a note stating that this version includes scenes not available in the…
Keinohrhasen / Zweiohrküken
Keinohrhasen (2007) and Zweiohrküken (2009) are one continuous story, so I’ll include them both here. Both are co-written by, directed by, and star Til Schweiger. Zweiohrküken makes more sense if you have seen Keinohrhasen –…
Echte Kerle
This 1996 film follows a macho cop who is having problems with his fiancé and ends up living with a gay man named Edgar. He is questioning his sexuality. Random situations and conversations take place…
Die Weiße Rose
This 1982 film is the same story as the more modern Sophie Scholl – the story of the student resistance group, the White Rose, and specifically Sophie Scholl. This film, while based on the true…
Dresden wie es mal war … zwischen Leid und Glück
This is a documentary film about the city of Dresden. As such, there are no actors. Footage is narrated in German. There is footage from before the destruction of Dresden that occurred during WWII. You…