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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…