Top 10 German Movies
Let’s be honest, who doesn’t like to go to the cinema or stay in on a cold Friday night with a good movie and a take away! But which movie are you going to watch? If you are bored of all the “ordinary” films out there, why not try a foreign one!
Have a look at what we think are the 10 best German movies of all times. And don’t worry if you don’t understand a word… There are always subtitles 😀
1. DAS LEBEN DER ANDEREN – THE LIVES OF OTHERS (2006)
In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives. Very sad movie, have your tissues at the ready.
2. DAS BOOT (1981)
The film follows the lives of a fearless U-Boat captain and his inexperienced crew as they patrol the Atlantic and Mediterranean in search of Allied vessels, taking turns as hunter and prey. Be sure to watch it, it’s a classic.
3. DER UNTERGANG – DOWNFALL (2004)
This movie is definitely worth watching. Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator’s final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII. It’s an honest and chilling portrait of the hard life back in the 1940’s.
4. DIE WELLE – THE WAVE (2008)
A high school teacher’s unusual experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit with a life of its own. Most students are left traumatised, not being able to tell the difference between the real world and fake dictatorship. This film makes you think – Could it really happen?
5. DAS EXPERIMENT – THE EXPERIMENT (2001)
The movie is based on the “Stanford Prison Experiment”. In a makeshift prison 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards for 2 weeks. But as you can imagine the experiment spirals out of control. Brilliant movie – but don’t watch it on your own 😀
6. GOODBYE LENIN (2003)
A must-see for history fans. In 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma, a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared. And it’s most certainly not an easy task. It’s funny and moving at the same time.
7. DER SCHLUSSMACHER (2013)
An employee at a professional separation agency – a business that helps couples break up – embarks on his toughest assignment yet. He meets Toto, a man who changes his life.
8. KEINHOHRHASEN (2007)
Ludo is a reporter who spies on celebrities. At Wladimir Klitschko’s engagement party (which he wasn’t invited to), he falls through the building’s glass dome … right into the cake. He is sentenced to 8 months, but is released on probation. Ludo has to work 300 hours for a local daycare center and meets Anna who has unfinished business with him. Hilarious comedy!
9. DER SCHUH DES MANITU – MANITOU’S SHOE (2001)
Der Schuh des Manitu is a parody of western films. Abahachi and his blood brother Ranger are about to buy a pub when they realise the deal (and the pub) are fake and the real estate agent Santa Maria killed the man who delivered their loan. Brilliant comedy.
10. KLEINES ARSCHLOCH (1997)
Even though it’s an animated movie, it’s definitely not suitable for children. The 12 year old “little asshole” wants to make the world a better place but ends up making his family and neighbours miserable instead. He falls in love with his 76 year old neighbour, kidnaps a dog and sells his sisters underwear. . . you will laugh tears.