This 2003 drama-comedy takes place in Berlin and follows a bartender, Frank Lehmann, who is most frequently called Herr Lehmann.
There are some interesting clips that could be used in an educational setting, particularly earlier in the film. I was able to fairly quickly note that we were in the Kreuzberg area based on the buildings and street appearance. (This is later confirmed in conversation. This is an interesting conversation – whether your students are from a less urban area and you are introducing the idea of a Viertel or you’re in a large city as well and have something to compare it to, Berlin’s areas are always a fine point to discuss.
As Herr Lehmann walks into a bar as a customer, he makes a quick comment about the dissonance between being called Herr Lehmann and people choosing to duzen.
There are some flashes of newspaper articles and short discussions, but until near the end when they go to the party at the falling wall, it’s not otherwise overly clear that this film takes place in October 1989. There are other films that cover this topic more explicitly.
Herr Lehmann is played by Christian Ulmen. He’s a familiar face. You may recognize him from Dr. Psycho or Gespensterjäger. He does well with the drama-comedy genre especially. There are some other familiar actors, but the most famous one has only a small part: Christoph Waltz plays a doctor. (Christoph Waltz’s international popularity didn’t come until a few years later with Inglorious Basterds, and he had primarily been in TV movies and series until that time.)
There is a flash of a woman breastfeeding in a bar. As the majority of the film takes place in bars, there are instances of over-drinking. There is some nudity further in.