I love movies and miss to be able to go to German movie theatres. German movies are so different from the stuff that comes out of Hollywood. Don’t get me wrong, there are so many very good American movies, but today I’d just like to share some of my favorite German movies with you. They go back into the 40’s!
Some of them are available on Netflix or Amazon. Others you may find in your local library or you might even consider buying them*. I’ve added links to each movie.
Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944)
You might even know this classic German movie and the notorious drink that is the title.
A successful writer, home-schooled in his youth, masquerades as a student at a secondary school to experience all the fun and pranks he missed out on.You can buy this movie here.
Es geschah am helllichten Tag (1958)
Having doubts about the guilt of the obvious suspect in the murder of an eight year old girl, a police detective decides to investigate the case on his own. Gert Fröbe, you might know him from James Bond’s Goldfinger, was an outstanding actor. You can actually watch this movie online here.
Theo gegen den Rest der Welt (1981)
Do you like road movies from the 80’s? Then this movie is for you. Theo is having some bad luck. His barely paid-for truck has been stolen, and credit collectors are after him. The chase leads him across Europe. You can watch it on youtube in full length.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRe911ivIks
Das Boot (1981)
Who doesn’t know this German classic? Well, if you still haven’t seen it, it is definitely worth your while. A German submarine patrols the Atlantic Ocean during World War II, manned by a crew that must contend with conflicts and long stretches of boredom. While war correspondent Werner observes day-to-day life aboard the U-boat, the captain struggles to maintain his own motivation. You can rent or buy it here.
Schtonk (1992)
The slightly fictionalized story of an art forger, a journalist desperate for a big story, and the biggest press scandal in German history: the Hitler Diaries. You can watch it in poor quality on youtube or you can buy it here.
Abgeschminkt (1993)
This is probably my personal favorite for very specific reasons. Sometimes, the place, the people and the circumstances affect how much you fall in love with a movie. I LOVE this movie so much and probably can say every single line. It is an original satire about two German women of the 90s playing the singles scene finding love cannot be forced. You can buy it here or borrow it from me if you live close 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqXkeKtUZ1s
Der bewegte Mann (1994)
Axel has just been dumped by his girlfriend Doro and needs to find a new place to live. He meets Walter a.k.a. Waltraud, a transvestite who participated in a heterosexual men’s group to provide a gay man’s perspective. Axel ends up moving in with Waltraud’s friend Norbert, who quickly falls for his straight roommate. But Axel doesn’t reciprocate. You can watch it in poor quality on youtube or you can buy it here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj-UpwErzQo
Comedian Harmonists (1997)
This movie is probably #2 on my list of German movies. Comedian Harmonists tells the story of a famous, German male sextet, five vocals and piano, the “Comedian Harmonists”, from the day they meet first in 1927 to the day in 1934, when they become banned by the upcoming Nazis, because three of them are Jewish. You can buy this movie here.
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (1997)
Two young men, Martin and Rudi, both suffering from terminal cancer, get to know each other in a hospital room. They drown their desperation in Tequila and decide to take one last trip to the sea. Drunk and still in pajamas they steal the first fancy car they find, a 60’s Mercedes convertible. The car happens to belong to a bunch of gangsters, which immediately start to chase it, since it contains more than the pistol Martin finds in the glove box. You can watch it on youtube or buy it here.
Lola rennt (Run Lola Run) (1998)
In this visually and conceptually impressive film, Berlin criminal Manni delivers some smuggled loot for his boss Ronnie, but accidentally leaves the 100,000 mark payment in a subway car. Given 20 minutes to come up with the money, he calls his girlfriend Lola, who sprints through the streets of the city to try to beg the money out of her bank manager father and get to Manni before he does something desperate. You can rent the movie on here.
Goodbye Lenin (2003)
In October 1989, right before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Alex Kerner is living with his mom, Christiane, and sister, Ariane. But when the mother, a loyal party member, sees Alex participating in an anti-communist rally, she falls into a coma and misses the revolution. After she wakes, doctors say any jarring event could make her have a heart attack, meaning the family must go to great lengths to pretend communism still reigns in Berlin. You can watch it here.
Das Leben der Anderen (2006)
This is probably the best German movie from the last 20 years. In 1983 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler, doubting that a famous playwright is loyal to the Communist Party, receives approval to spy on the man and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and then faces conflicting loyalties. You can watch it here.
Soul Kitchen (2009)
In Hamburg, German-Greek chef Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef. I love this movie because the story is simple but well-made, so from real life that everyone can find themselves in this story. This movie was on Netflix for a while, right now you can watch it on Hulu or you buy it here.
Fack Ju Göthe (2013)
Even though this movie has a rather simple plot and is often pretty vulgar, as a teacher it is a must-see. I quite like it because it is typical German on many levels. An ex-con takes a job in a school that sits over his stash of cash from an old robbery. You can buy the movie here.
Er ist wieder da (Look who is back) (2015)
When Adolf Hitler reawakens at the site of his former bunker 70 years later, he’s mistaken for a brilliant comedian and becomes a media phenomenon. This movie is currently available on Netflix.
And last but not least:
Willkommen bei den Hartmanns (2016)
I shared this one already in my March Link Love. It manages to tell the story of a refugee in a fun, yet intelligent way and encourages the Germans to stay on the right path of integrating the people who are in need of help.
Happy watching!
* Some of the movies you can only buy as a DVD and not watch online. But they will not play on DVD players sold in the US (region 1). For German or other European DVDs (region 2) it works if you have a super cheap DVD player. Most of them play almost every DVD, but lack picture quality.
