Nur aus Liebe
This 1996 action-romance features Katja Riemann as a German cab driver who gets in above her head with some of her fares. Another familiar face is Hannes Jaenicke, who in this case is playing a…
Die dritte Generation
This 1979 crime drama, directed by the controversial Rainer Werner Fassbinder, focuses on capitalist gain during times of political uncertainty. As a contemporary of Werner Herzog, Fassbinder was also known to have deep concepts as…
Rossini
This 1997 satire, in case it weren’t obvious enough by the title image, is not recommended for educational purposes. That being said, it is a star-studded cast for the time and may be worth discussing…
Herr Lehmann
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…
Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen
This 1970 Werner Herzog film is a dark comedy centering itself on a correctional facility exclusively inhabited by little people. It was filmed on the Canary Islands, Spain, but is (other than some names) entirely…
Der geilste Tag
This 2016 drama-comedy features favourite actors Matthias Schweighöfer, Florian David Fitz, and Alexandra Maria Lara. This is a medical drama where we meet terminally ill patients who, through their differences, decide to have the best…
Kaspar Hauser
This 1993 film adaptation of the famous historical drama/mystery stays well to the original story. Perhaps the most recognisable faces are Uwe Ochsenknecht and Katharina Thalbach. We also see Udo Samel (Mein bester Feind, Die…
Hot Dog
This 2018 “buddy cop” action comedy should not be mistaken as appropriate for the classroom. That being said, we all seem to be fans of Til Schweiger and/or Matthias Schweighöfer, so this is a great…
Club der roten Bänder – wie alles begann
This 2019 drama is a prequel to a TV series following a group of children who are sick in the hospital. Perhaps the most recognizable faces in this film are Tim Oliver Schultz, whom we’ve…
Trautmann
Rated 12 and up in Germany, this 2018 war drama is a UK/Germany production and as such the language does not always match the lips when played in German. (They opted to dub the English…
Unheimlich Perfekte Freunde
This 2019 family-family comedy features a magic mirror and a 4th grade student who decides to use it. In true children’s film fashion, most of the actors are lesser-known. You may recognize Margarita Broich from…
Vorsicht vor Leuten
This 2015 comedy is an interesting warning in society and could be an interesting conversational piece. Charly Hübner is our main actor. We have seen him before in Das Leben der Anderen, the Bibi und…
Tschick
Known in the US as Goodbye Berlin, this 2016 film is available to stream in the US with ads on Tubi and is rated TV-MA. In plays from here with English subtitles, which are at…
Das System Milch
This 2017 documentary is currently available on Netflix. It is rated TV-14. This film holds a critical look at the milk production economy around the world. There are a few different languages included in this,…
Systemsprenger
This 2020 Netflix film is marketed as a drama. It focuses on a major medical concern for a child, which causes her act out violently. Most cast members are likely new faces to us. That…
Herbert
This 2015 drama is currently available on Netflix. Our star is Peter Kurth, whom we may recognize from Goodbye Lenin, Babylon Berlin, and Ein Freund von mir. He plays a former East German boxer, now…
Who am I – kein System ist sicher
This 2014 drama-mystery is currently available on Netflix. This film stars Tom Schilling, whom we’ve seen in a few posts already. Next to him is Elyas M’Barek, whom we also know quite well by now,…
Alles ist gut
This 2018 Netflix film handles itself with a sensitive subject, namely rape, and the consequences of keeping it secret. This film has several scenes that may be triggering to some viewers. There are some great…
Berlin, Berlin – der Film
This 2020 Netflix film is a film from an earlier TV series, using the same actors as the series. Felicitas Woll has been in a range of roles, many centering in the rom-com realm. Wir…
Zug in die Freiheit
This 2014 documentary centers around stories of DDR escapes. There are many interviews with those who risked their lives to do so, as well as several original clips from the era. Sebastian Dehnhardt and Matthias…
Kästner und der kleine Dienstag
This 2016 historical drama is currently available on Amazon. Kästner is played by Florian David Fitz, who we’ve seen and discussed already. Among the cast is also Katharina Lorenz, who we may recognize from her…
Driven Crazy
This 2020 film, currently available on Amazon Prime, is rated 16+ there. It would easily be rated R, were it to be rated in America. Robin Czerny is a face we may recognize from Kokowääh…
Flucht nach Berlin
This 1961 drama-thriller, currently available on Amazon, was a West German production centering around farmers leaving East Germany to flee the collectivization that was taking place. Being a post-war older film, the actors may not…
Willkommen bei den Hartmanns
This 2016 Drama-Comedy is already well-known by German teachers across the states. With a central theme of immigration, this film lends itself well to the topics our advanced students are expected to be able to…
Speechless
This 2016 short film is currently available on Amazon Prime. It features Heike Makatsch, who we know from films such as Hui Buh, Tom Sawyer, Anatomy 2, and even Love Actually. Not actually in German…
Frau im Mond
This 1929 Fritz Lang film, written by his then-wife Thea von Harbou, was banned by the Nazis in 1937 due to a prop – the film shows in detail the first working rocket, and the…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…