Gespensterjäger
Cornelia Funke doesn’t usually allow her books to have film versions using German studios, as she prefers the Hollywood style, so this 2015 family-friendly adventure comedy is a special treat for us German-speaking fans! Comedy…
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…
Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer
This post is specially covering the four-episode Augsburger Puppenkiste collection from 1977 and not the film remake of 2018. This film is recommended for ages 3+ and does lean young. That being said, the language…
Leberkäs Junkie
A Eberhoferkrimi, this 2019 film is a continuation of stories that began in 2013 with Dampfnudelblues and continues through 2022 with Guglhupfgeschwader so far. (It appears as if they may have spun off from a…
Plisch und Plum
This Wilhelm Busch work, read by the narrator Helmut Hansen, may be less well-known than Max und Moritz or Struwwelpeter, but popular enough to have been translated into English long ago. This story is a…
Struwwelpeter
This audio-film uses images from Wilhelm Busch’s Struwwelpeter exclusively. It goes through each short story with a musical clip and a collage of images from the book. At times the music is distracting, as it…
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…
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…
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…
The Thief Lord (Herr der Diebe)
Okay, okay, this 2006 film is not originally German, BUT it IS the film adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s book of the same title, and of course her book was originally in German. The Thief Lord…