German Movie List

When I lived in the U.S. and searched for movie rentals either about Germany or from Germany, I was bothered that the vast majority of them were about WWII and the Nazis, and some of the U.S.-produced WWII movies made it into some kind of thrilling “action” film. Please don’t get me wrong; it’s not that I don’t think WWII is a very important theme to watch (after all, Band of Brothers is one of my favorite film series), it just seems to me that the U.S. view of Germany through film is that Germany = war/Nazis/really bad people.

There is a wide-ranging collection of German films that provide insight into German life and culture. Therefore, I’ve set out to compile a list of films that show the diversity of Germany and German life, and without a WWII theme (at least not directly). I’ve tried to categorize them as best as I can, but some movies defy categories. Some of these may not be available in the U.S., but most can be found on Netflix. What are your favorites? Do you have any to add? I’d really love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

Film List

Heart-warming

Cherry Blossoms / Kirschblüten – Hanami: Really lovely film about an older Bavarian couple – it eventually leads to Japan.

Love

Mostly Martha / Bella Martha: Forget the Americanized version, No Reservations, with Catherine Zitty Jones. The original German version is MUCH better.

Rabbit without Ears / Kein Ohr Hasen: A fantastic romantic comedy about a gossip columnist who is assigned to community service in a daycare. The woman running the daycare turns out to be a nerdy girl he played practical jokes when they were in school. Now the joke is on him.

Strangers: This film crosses so many categories, I hardly know where to put it in this list. Set against the backdrop of the 2006 World Cup in Berlin, an Israeli man and a Palestinian woman inadvertently meet in the Berlin subway when they mix up their bags. The connection between them is palpable as they fall for each other and yet struggle with their cultures as yet another Israeli-Palestinian conflict breaks out. This sweet, informal film captures so much: the feeling of Berlin during the World Cup, the earnestness of their love story, and two young people who want reconciliation between their cultures.

Barfuss / Barefoot: A troubled bachelor finds his step in life as he helps and falls for an incredibly sheltered mental patient who latches onto him. Funny and poignant, it’s better than its description makes it sound.

The Princess and the Warrior / Der Krieger und die Kaiserin: A young nurse lives a secluded life working and living in an asylum. One day she is hit by a truck and lying beneath it when a man saves her life. She then forms an attachment but her affection is rejected.

In July / Im Juli: A shy scientist falls for a free-spirited chick in this road-trip movie that starts in Hamburg and ends in Istanbul.

East Berlin

Good-Bye Lenin! Funny and heart-warming film set in East Berlin. The lead character’s mother goes into a coma before the fall of the wall and wakes up after. He does not tell her the wall fell, and he sets up their apartment and stages life as usual (including fake newscasts) for the sake of her health. Meanwhile, Berlin is rapidly changing.

Wings of Desire / Der Himmel über Berlin: I really hate the English title. One of my very favorite films, it’s mostly black and white and is like one long poem. Two angels watch over Berlin until one of them falls in love and wants to become human. Great way to see Berlin in the 80s.

The Lives of Others / Das Leben der Anderen: Excellent drama in East Berlin about an agent of the secret police who conducts surveillance on a writer and his girlfriend.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch: This is an American rock musical that I adore. Hedwig is a transsexual punk rock singer from East Berlin who had to leave a part of herself behind to get to the West. (I didn’t know what category to put this in, so I slotted it in East Berlin.)

Herr Lehmann: Set in West Berlin in October 1989, Frank Lehmann is turning 30 and is a bartender. But soon the wall is going to fall and change everything.

Ein Traum in Erdbeerfolie / Comrade Couture: A gorgeous documentary about the 1980s underground fashion movement in the GDR.

Immigration, Integration, Cultural Issues

Die Fremde (translates as “the foreign woman”): Strong drama that highlights the tensions between Turkish and German culture and identity. A German-born woman of Turkish descent takes her child and flees from her husband in Istanbul back to Germany.

Head-On / Gegen die Wand: Another strong drama about Turkish and German identity and culture.

Almanya – Wilkommen in Deutschland: A funny and touching movie about what integration means for one Turkish/German family.

Adventure

Nordwand / North Face: Based on the true story of two German climbers who made an attempt in 1936 to climb the Eiger in Switzerland. I really don’t think the U.S. version merits having a swastika on the cover. The German version shows what the movie is really about, two German climbers and a woman who loves one of them. It’s true that a thread of the film has to do with Germany’s rising nationalism and therefore the big and disastrous push for Germans to be the first to summit the Eiger. But a swastika connotates to me that the film is about the Nazis.

Run, Lola, Run / Lola Rennt: A heart-pounding, fast-paced thriller.

Drama

The Edukators / Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei: Three young anti-capitalist activists break into rich people’s homes, rearrange the furniture, and leave notes warning that their days of plenty are over.

Winter Sleepers / Winterschläfer: Moody and brilliantly subtle film set in a snowy Bavarian village. The characters’ lives intersect in ways that they don’t even know.

Yella: A taut, subtle, and haunting meditation on the meaning of death and the ethics of venture capitalism. Beautifully acted by Nina Hoss. If you like a clear-cut storyline and ending, this film may not be for you.

Summer of ’04 / Sommer ’04 an der Schlei: A German family spends their summer in their vacation home and sailing on the river. The son’s girlfriend begins flirting with an American man she meets while sailing, and some entanglements ensue.

Schultze Gets the Blues: A bit slow and boring for my taste, but funny no less. Schultze retires and has nothing to do until he hears American zydeco music on the radio. He takes up his accordion and the music changes his life.

Comedy

Manitu’s Shoe / Der Schuh des Manitu: A German spoof on the American Old West, taken from the stories of German author Karl May. This seems to be a German cultural institution.

If It Don’t Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer / Was Nicht Passt wird Passend Gemacht: German comedy about everything that can go wrong on a construction site.

Kebab Connection: A comedy set in Hamburg about a Turkish guy who wants to direct the first German kung-fu movie, but instead makes popular commercials for his uncle’s kebab restaurant. Meanwhile, his German girlfriend becomes pregnant, and he’s not sure he’s ready to be a father.

Die Friseuse / The Hairdresser: A plump hairstylist in Berlin is looking for work. When she is turned down by a snobbish salon, she decides to open her own shop next door. Hilarity ensues as she tries to solve her cash problem in order to get the permit for her shop.