Finsterworld
This 2013 drama focuses on the dark side of otherwise regular people. Many actors have had smaller roles over the years – or may be most famous in Poland – but the highlight of this…
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…
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…
Joy
This 2018 Austrian film is available on Netflix. It is a drama, rated at TV-MA. This film is mostly in English and German – all languages beyond German are subtitled I’m to German. It shows…
Das schaurige Haus
This 2020 Austrian Netflix film is marketed as a horror/mystery/thriller. There are moments of consequential learning that may be of interest to you and your students. For example, the older son complains that his phone…
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…
Schwarze Insel
This 2021 Netflix film is marketed as a teen movie, but is rated TV-MA. Perhaps the only thing leaning in a “teen movie” description is the fact that it centers itself around a school. Sadly,…
Freaks – du bist eine von uns
This 2020 Netflix film is marketed as a drama-mystery-fantasy. Cornelia Gröschel plays our lead. She may look familiar from Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer. Next to her is Tim Oliver Schultz, whom we know from…
Familiye
This 2017 film is currently available on Netflix. It’s a drama that centers itself around crime and family. You may notice that most of the actors in this film have Middle Eastern names. It should…
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,…
Kidnapping Stella
This 2019 Netflix film is marketed as a crime-thriller and is rated TV-MA. The first person we see is Max von der Groeben, whom we may recognize from the Bibi und Tina series and the…
Und morgen die ganze Welt
Another 2020 Netflix film, this social drama is rated TV-MA and covers the political spectrum of Germany. One member of the cast has been in several Netflix shows German film lovers may have seen. Playing…
Blood Red Sky
This 2021 Netflix film is marketed as an action/horror/thriller and is currently rated #2 in the US market! This film uses a variety of languages for the full global effect this film calls for, but…
Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark.
This 2014 social drama is available on Netflix. It covers the events of 1992 in Rostock, during which xenophobic riots attacked Vietnamese refugees. Using a variety of film art techniques, this film can be analyzed…
Wir können nicht anders
This 2020 Netflix film, otherwise known as Christmas Crossfire, stars Kostja Ullmann. Merlin Rose also joins the cast. He may look familiar from Hot Dog, an episode of Dark, or the TV series Das Boot.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
Such mich nicht
This 2004 film is a thriller about a woman (Anna) who is an assassin who would like to retire. She must complete one last hit before her boss will allow her to leave. Stipe Erceg,…