Thinking about exercising my German by seeing some German films made here in Germany featuring people speaking German. Any recommendations? No interest in seeing anything dubbed or subtitled.
Edit: Also, would like to see an actual film in an actual theatre, i.e. no suggestions for stuff that's only rentable.
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Current German film recommendations
Suggested movies
Wer früher sterbt ist länger tot is supposed to be good.
Heard the same about "stirbt" just today at lunch.
A recent one, "Das Leben der Anderen" was excellent.
"Der bewegte Mann" (the film, not the tv show) is really good.
"Der Eisbär" is another favorite of mine, action, humor.
"Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is real good.
Wow, looks like I must be a Til Schweiger fan ;-)
"Der Schuh des Manitu" and "(T)raumschiff Surprize" are good practice.
"Lola Rennt" is a cult favorite.
I have most of these on DVD is you would like to borrow them.
A recent one, "Das Leben der Anderen" was excellent.
"Der bewegte Mann" (the film, not the tv show) is really good.
"Der Eisbär" is another favorite of mine, action, humor.
"Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is real good.
Wow, looks like I must be a Til Schweiger fan ;-)
"Der Schuh des Manitu" and "(T)raumschiff Surprize" are good practice.
"Lola Rennt" is a cult favorite.
I have most of these on DVD is you would like to borrow them.
Das Experiment. Great movie, should be on everyone's to see list.
Hui Bui (or how ever its spelt?) that new film with ghost in it.
German Cinema will give information about the topic.
The German film I most want to see right now is Der freie Wille starring Jürgen Vogel.
It is not a jolly film - Jürgen Vogel plays a rapist who has served 9 years for a series of assaults. After leaving prison where he was in a pyschiatric unit, he meets and falls in love with Nettie, a woman who has endured years of abuse at the hands of her father. As their relationship blossoms, they start a journey to the limits of the free will, good or bad.
The German film I most want to see right now is Der freie Wille starring Jürgen Vogel.
It is not a jolly film - Jürgen Vogel plays a rapist who has served 9 years for a series of assaults. After leaving prison where he was in a pyschiatric unit, he meets and falls in love with Nettie, a woman who has endured years of abuse at the hands of her father. As their relationship blossoms, they start a journey to the limits of the free will, good or bad.
@Katrina, that sounds interesting. Do you know if it is playing anywhere with English subtiltles?
If your German isn't that great, start off with something easy to understand.
7 Zwerge -Männer Allein im Wald is a comedic version of Snowhite and the 7 Dwarves, more suitable for adults though. It stars pretty much every German comedian out there.
7 Zwerge -Männer Allein im Wald is a comedic version of Snowhite and the 7 Dwarves, more suitable for adults though. It stars pretty much every German comedian out there.
Not that I know of, usually you get the subtitles first when the DVD comes out, don't you?
Vogel is for me like a Klaus Kinski - the rest of the film can be rubbish but he has never been terrible, it's a huge, difficult, brave, unnerving role and I can't think of anyone else who could have played it. He was also co-writer and co-producer, winning the Silver Bear in Berlin and Best Actor at Tribeca. It is 3 hours long, so be warned.
Starts tonight (31st Aug) at the Forum @ Deutsches Museum
Vogel is for me like a Klaus Kinski - the rest of the film can be rubbish but he has never been terrible, it's a huge, difficult, brave, unnerving role and I can't think of anyone else who could have played it. He was also co-writer and co-producer, winning the Silver Bear in Berlin and Best Actor at Tribeca. It is 3 hours long, so be warned.
Starts tonight (31st Aug) at the Forum @ Deutsches Museum
If it´s available on DVD "Drei Chinesen mit einem Kontra-Bass" is very funny (full of black humor!)
QUOTE (AnthonyDoesEurope @ Aug 31 2006, 12:44 pm) 
"Der bewegte Mann" (the film, not the tv show) is really good.
worst film ever made in the whole universe !!!
QUOTE (Owain Glyndwr @ Aug 31 2006, 12:16 pm)
Wer früher sterbt ist länger tot is supposed to be good.
That movie was highly recommended to me as well.
But it apparently requires some basic familiarity with Bavarian dialect as a prerequisite...
Films I would recommend:
Das Boot Intense, claustraphobic war film. Ending that makes you throw up your arms and shout FFS NO!
Der Untergang (Downfall) Mostly Traudl Junge (Hitler's secretary) and other's recreation of the last day's in Adolph's Berlin bunker. Excellent and daring performance by Bruno Ganz as Hitler.
Goodbye LeninNice slice of Ostalgia and touching performance by Daniel Brühl and Katrin Saß as his mother who he tries to reassure that East Germany still exists.
Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei (released here as The Edukators) also with Daniel Brühl as a trio of anarchists who inadvertedly kidnap a businessman who it turns out used to be a radical 68er himself. Much introspection and political discussion that goes nowhere but otherwise is a thoughtful and uplifting film. (great ending!)
Das weiße Rauschen Oh yes, with Daniel Brühl again. Is a pattern emerging? If you ever want to get an understanding of what schizophrenia is really like then this as as good an insight as anything I've seen (I imagine).
Lola rennt (Run Lola Run) Fast moving thriller which questions the consequences of causality.
Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum) Psychological nightmare during the inter-war years and the build-up to Nazism. Actually, no, not recommended for the easily disturbed as I still wake up having nightmares about this one.
Sophie Scholl Focuses on a leading woman from the anti-Nazi White Rose movement. I wanted to see this after reading about the movement on the display boards at Dachau and wasn't dissapointed.
Der Himmel über BerlinDirected by Wim Wenders in black and white and colour this is the most beautiful cinematography ever. Not the fastest or most engaging of plots though!
Europa, Europa A young Jewish lad flees from Poland and first finds himself educated at a Soviet Youth boot-camp, then at a Hitler Youth academy where he tries to conceal his Jewishness (his attempts at disguising his circumscion are excrutiating). Apparently a true story but hard to believe at times.
Herr Lehmann A gentle comedy, mostly good for its character definition than rib-breaking laughter or dynamic tension, chronicalling life in Kreuzberg at the downfall of the Wall.
Das Experiment Recreates a real-life experiment of dividing volunteers into prisoners and warders. Violent and disturbing.
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht directed by Werner Herzog and with Klaus Kinski as Dracula. The best cinematography of any film about Dracula, EVER.
Stalingrad I've only ever managed to get this with terribly terribly dubbed English. Good gruesome goresome (anti-)war movie in the spirit of Full Metal Jacket. I imagine it is very true to life about the Nazi siege of Stalingrad and the lives of the soldiers caught up in it.
Amundsen der Pinguin A kids film without English subtitles, but I'm including it because it has Till Lindemann (lead singer from Rammstein) in it as a villain.
Oh, and if you can ever get to see the Heimat series (it was shown in its entirety on TV here (the UK) last year) then that's a most worthwhile experience. Nothing much actually happens to be honest, but it's breadth of time period and the interaction of characters is fascinating.
Das Boot Intense, claustraphobic war film. Ending that makes you throw up your arms and shout FFS NO!
Der Untergang (Downfall) Mostly Traudl Junge (Hitler's secretary) and other's recreation of the last day's in Adolph's Berlin bunker. Excellent and daring performance by Bruno Ganz as Hitler.
Goodbye LeninNice slice of Ostalgia and touching performance by Daniel Brühl and Katrin Saß as his mother who he tries to reassure that East Germany still exists.
Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei (released here as The Edukators) also with Daniel Brühl as a trio of anarchists who inadvertedly kidnap a businessman who it turns out used to be a radical 68er himself. Much introspection and political discussion that goes nowhere but otherwise is a thoughtful and uplifting film. (great ending!)
Das weiße Rauschen Oh yes, with Daniel Brühl again. Is a pattern emerging? If you ever want to get an understanding of what schizophrenia is really like then this as as good an insight as anything I've seen (I imagine).
Lola rennt (Run Lola Run) Fast moving thriller which questions the consequences of causality.
Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum) Psychological nightmare during the inter-war years and the build-up to Nazism. Actually, no, not recommended for the easily disturbed as I still wake up having nightmares about this one.
Sophie Scholl Focuses on a leading woman from the anti-Nazi White Rose movement. I wanted to see this after reading about the movement on the display boards at Dachau and wasn't dissapointed.
Der Himmel über BerlinDirected by Wim Wenders in black and white and colour this is the most beautiful cinematography ever. Not the fastest or most engaging of plots though!
Europa, Europa A young Jewish lad flees from Poland and first finds himself educated at a Soviet Youth boot-camp, then at a Hitler Youth academy where he tries to conceal his Jewishness (his attempts at disguising his circumscion are excrutiating). Apparently a true story but hard to believe at times.
Herr Lehmann A gentle comedy, mostly good for its character definition than rib-breaking laughter or dynamic tension, chronicalling life in Kreuzberg at the downfall of the Wall.
Das Experiment Recreates a real-life experiment of dividing volunteers into prisoners and warders. Violent and disturbing.
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht directed by Werner Herzog and with Klaus Kinski as Dracula. The best cinematography of any film about Dracula, EVER.
Stalingrad I've only ever managed to get this with terribly terribly dubbed English. Good gruesome goresome (anti-)war movie in the spirit of Full Metal Jacket. I imagine it is very true to life about the Nazi siege of Stalingrad and the lives of the soldiers caught up in it.
Amundsen der Pinguin A kids film without English subtitles, but I'm including it because it has Till Lindemann (lead singer from Rammstein) in it as a villain.
Oh, and if you can ever get to see the Heimat series (it was shown in its entirety on TV here (the UK) last year) then that's a most worthwhile experience. Nothing much actually happens to be honest, but it's breadth of time period and the interaction of characters is fascinating.
QUOTE (Owain Glyndwr @ Aug 31 2006, 12:16 pm)
Wer früher sterbt ist länger tot is supposed to be good.
I've heard that unless your german is really quite good, and you can understand Bayrisch then this film is not for you.
Also, excellent post Serenissima!
QUOTE (Hutcho @ Aug 31 2006, 1:45 pm)
I've heard that unless your german is really quite good, and you can understand Bayrisch then this film is not for you.
Hutcho would be right - saw it Wed. evening - sometimes struggled to catch everything despite being familiar with Bavarian! Enjoyed the film though - the little kid who played the lead role was excellent - some very funny scenes/script.
Kebab Connection is another excellent movie...I loved it..but it is just in GERMAN...no english subtitles...
but it´s a good laugh though...
Kebab Connection
but it´s a good laugh though...
Kebab Connection
pretty much all the good ones have been mentioned already
enjoyed Crash Boom Bang (spelling?) but it's a bit old and not playing at cinemas any more
heard that the Freie Wille is not for those with weak stomachs (very detailed horrible rape scenes)
enjoyed Crash Boom Bang (spelling?) but it's a bit old and not playing at cinemas any more
heard that the Freie Wille is not for those with weak stomachs (very detailed horrible rape scenes)
Im Juli... nice little movie with Bleibtreu...
Fairly low key production, and that makes it quite enjoyable
Fairly low key production, and that makes it quite enjoyable
Saw "stirbt" with my gf, she had to translate some of the Bararian into German for me, but I was surprised at how much I did understand. It was funny as hell. Great flick. Highly recommendable black comedy.
QUOTE (dimmer @ Sep 1 2006, 7:40 pm)
heard that the Freie Wille is not for those with weak stomachs (very detailed horrible rape scenes)
Saw this film a few days ago and can confirm that you heard correctly. This film is very graphic in parts and in general not what I'd recommend for a cheery evening at the cinema. That said, Jürgen Vogel's performance was very impressive and the story was quite interesting. At the end of the movie, the whole audience was so silent you could have heard a pin drop and people walked out of the cinema in a very shell-shocked fashion. When I regained my vocal ability afterwards, all I could say was 'that was fucking horrible' as I felt like I had been hit in the stomach with a baseball bat. Certainly made an impression.
"Stirbt" is good entertainment and includes nice footage of the Wendelstein, but does indeed require good knowledge of Bavarian. In fact it wouldn't work if dubbed into "real" German.
"Das Parfum - Die Geschichte eines Mörders" is playing at the moment. Haven't seen it but am planning to (and have read the book). Tom Tykwer is always worth a look.
We´ve seen "Das Parfum". We went to see it yesterday evening. Bloody strange film, often illogical. Has it´s moments though. My wife says I should read the book... Yeah right, Lola rennt and Die Kaiserin und der Krieger were also good.
Sonnenallee, NVA, Goodbye Lenin, all these "ostalgie" films are worth watching. There are some really funny scenes.
Sonnenallee, NVA, Goodbye Lenin, all these "ostalgie" films are worth watching. There are some really funny scenes.
My gf claims "Der Bewegte Mann" is the best german movie...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109255/
Anyone seen it? I haven't yet...then again, after 2 1/2 years here, I'd only understand half of it anyways...
EDIT: I see AnthonyDoesEurope already mentioned it and liked it...ok, I guess I'll have to eventually see it. For now, more beer, it might help with the language skills, right?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109255/
Anyone seen it? I haven't yet...then again, after 2 1/2 years here, I'd only understand half of it anyways...
EDIT: I see AnthonyDoesEurope already mentioned it and liked it...ok, I guess I'll have to eventually see it. For now, more beer, it might help with the language skills, right?
anyone mentioned "Die fetten jahre sind vorbei"? (english title:"The edukators")
cracking, if u can ignore some of the more naive politics...
cracking, if u can ignore some of the more naive politics...
Has anyone mentioned "Anatomie" yet? Schuh des Manitou and (T)raumschiff Enterprise are also good for a laugh.
Hello anybody already mentioned about " Bella Martha" ?
It might be too naive Drama for expert movie watcher,but for a German beginer like me , so far it's my favorit German film.
Now I am learning German at a language school and have some research home work about German films.
I need to interview for German and non-German who likes German Films.
If somebody is interested in the question, here is the question. I would be appolicated if you help me.
thanks
(Question)
( Deutsche Filme )
1. Welche Schauspieler sind bekannt?
2. Welche Schauspieler moegen Sie persoeneich?
3. Deutsche Regisseure?
4. Deutsche Filme/ wo gezeigt?
5. Wie haeufig?
6. Zwei Filmtitel der letzten Jahre?
7. Was fuer Filme?
8. Was fuer Themen?
( Deutsche im Film ) extra Fragen fuer oben.
1.Film, in dem ein Deutscher die Hauptfigur ist.
2.Rolle des Deutschen?
3. Rolle der Deutschen/ haeugig?
4. Typen?
(angenehm - unangenehm, witzig- humorlos, streng - locker )
5. Beispiel ?
6. Chrakter?
7. Wirkung dieser Filme? ( positiv - negativ )
It might be too naive Drama for expert movie watcher,but for a German beginer like me , so far it's my favorit German film.
Now I am learning German at a language school and have some research home work about German films.
I need to interview for German and non-German who likes German Films.
If somebody is interested in the question, here is the question. I would be appolicated if you help me.
thanks
(Question)
( Deutsche Filme )
1. Welche Schauspieler sind bekannt?
2. Welche Schauspieler moegen Sie persoeneich?
3. Deutsche Regisseure?
4. Deutsche Filme/ wo gezeigt?
5. Wie haeufig?
6. Zwei Filmtitel der letzten Jahre?
7. Was fuer Filme?
8. Was fuer Themen?
( Deutsche im Film ) extra Fragen fuer oben.
1.Film, in dem ein Deutscher die Hauptfigur ist.
2.Rolle des Deutschen?
3. Rolle der Deutschen/ haeugig?
4. Typen?
(angenehm - unangenehm, witzig- humorlos, streng - locker )
5. Beispiel ?
6. Chrakter?
7. Wirkung dieser Filme? ( positiv - negativ )
QUOTE (Owain Glyndwr @ Aug 31 2006, 11:16 am)
Wer früher sterbt ist länger tot is supposed to be good.
This movie has recently been released on DVD.
I've read good reviews of it.
We watched Mostly Martha the other day and its really well made. Have just bought The Edukators, Europa Europa and The Fear That Eats The Soul.
I really enjoyed Lola Rennt/Run Lola Run and Was Tun Das Brent(?)/What to do in case of Fire - very silly but very enjoyable films both of them.
Das Experiment was good but scary and even more scary when you realise it was based on a true event.
I don't need to talk about Das Boot as I think everything's already been said. It's awsome.
Watched Sophie Scholl a week ago and am still thinking about it now. Amazing film.
I really enjoyed Lola Rennt/Run Lola Run and Was Tun Das Brent(?)/What to do in case of Fire - very silly but very enjoyable films both of them.
Das Experiment was good but scary and even more scary when you realise it was based on a true event.
I don't need to talk about Das Boot as I think everything's already been said. It's awsome.
Watched Sophie Scholl a week ago and am still thinking about it now. Amazing film.
My favorites:
Wer Früher Stirbt...
'Die Blechtrommel
Lammbock
Good bye Lenin
Good actors:
Jürgen Vogel, Moritz Bleitreu
Wer Früher Stirbt...
'Die Blechtrommel
Lammbock
Good bye Lenin
Good actors:
Jürgen Vogel, Moritz Bleitreu
Shoppen is a good laugh
One that hasn't been mentioned is Barfuß, which I really enjoyed. It's on DVD now though, but probably not with English subtitles.
I'm a bit of a Til Schweiger fan too, but I haven't seen his last film "wo ist Fred" yet. The trailer seemed a bit "wrong" to me. Has anyone else seen it?
I'm a bit of a Til Schweiger fan too, but I haven't seen his last film "wo ist Fred" yet. The trailer seemed a bit "wrong" to me. Has anyone else seen it?
Not a recent one, but still great:
Das merkwürdige Verhalten geschlechtsreifer Großstädter zur Paarungszeit
Das merkwürdige Verhalten geschlechtsreifer Großstädter zur Paarungszeit
Just saw Auf der anderen Seite yesterday. Another good one by Fatih Akin (of Gegen die Wand).
I would agree that most of the movies listed above are classics, but I already knew most of them when I was living in the US.
What about all the Germany-only DVDs you come across in the shop, which look really tacky but just keep getting in your face: Samba in Mettmann, 7Zwerge, Anatomie with Franka Potente (how ever many there are)... are any of these actually good?
What about all the Germany-only DVDs you come across in the shop, which look really tacky but just keep getting in your face: Samba in Mettmann, 7Zwerge, Anatomie with Franka Potente (how ever many there are)... are any of these actually good?
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