Links to free online German film resources
Below I have created an extensive list of resources for German films. Hopefully it will of use for those interested in German cinema and to that end I would like to thank the people/organisations would produced them.
Also don’t forget to order the dvds from Worldonlinecinema.com, a small, over 20 year old company, that is trying to keep an interest in German language and culture alive in the UK.
We are not a internet behemoth that wants to sell all things at the cheapest price, but a company with a love of the subject.
Any suggestions and comments please let me know.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILM APPS –
FILMSPRACHE APP (GERMAN LANGUAGE FILM APPS) – Learning German film – here is a good German language film app that has over 400 definitions of important terms in film language, film analysis and cinematic storytelling useful for basic and advanced film courses –
GERMAN FILMS –
AB HEUTE HEISST DU SARA/FROM NOW ON YOUR NAME IS SARA: GRIPS THEATRE BERLIN (E) GERMANY £19.99
The play, based on Inge Deutschkron’s book ‘Ich trug den gelben Stern’’ 1933 eleven years old Inge who refuses to understand why all of a sudden she is not allowed to play on the street. In the years after that for Inge, being a Jew means not only humiliation, attacks and restrictions, but also never going dancing or to the cinema. It means growing up without having been young.
GERMAN NOTES TO THE PLAY AB HEUTE HEISST DU SARA
GERMAN TEACHING MATERIAL TO AB HEUTE HEISST DU SARA
ABSCHIED – BRECHTS LETZTER SOMMER/THE FAREWELL. BRECHT’S LAST SUMMER (15) 2000 SCHUTTE, J. £19.99
Portrait of Brecht set in the summer of 1956 in East Germany.
AIMÉE & JAGUAR (15) GERMANY 1999 FARBERBOCK, MAX £19.99 – TITLE UNAVAILABLE, DVD AWAITING RE-ISSUE.
Set in 1943 Berlin the film follows two women experiences,one a mother with four children, the other a member of the Jewish underground.
ALLES AUF ZUCKER! 2004 GERMANY LEVY, DANI – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Heart-warming comedy of two families reunited after the collapse of the Berlin wall.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY PHILIPP BÜHLER
ALMANYA – WILLKOMMEN IN DEUTSCHLAND 2011 GWERMANY SAMDERELI, YASEMIN – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
German Turkish family decide to go back to live in Turkey
ALMANYA – WILLKOMMEN IN DEUTSCHLAND -UNTERRICHTSMATERIALIEN FÜR DIE SEKUNDARSTUFE
KEY TO ALMANYA – WILLKOMMEN IN DEUTSCHLAND -UNTERRICHTSMATERIALIEN FÜR DIE SEKUNDARSTUFE
ALMANYA – GERMAN TEACHING RESOURCES
ALMANYA – TEACHING RESOURCES – SOLUTIONS
ALPHABET 2013 AUSTRIA WAGENHOFER, ERWIN – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
A documentary about the modern education system stifling imagination, creativity, and independent of thought.
AMOUR FOU (12A) 2014 AUSTRIA HAUSNER, JESSICA £14.99
The film follows young German poet and dramatist Heinrich von Kleist while he tries to convince a friend’s wife to join him in a suicide pact as a means of escaping the inevitability of death.
ANGST ESSEN SEELE AUF/FEAR EATS THE SOUL (15 ) 1973 GERMANY FASSBINDER, R. W. £19.99
Film is about a German woman who strikes up a friendship with a Moroccan man and the racism they encounter.
ANONYMA – EINE FRAU IN BERLIN/ANONYMA – THE DOWNFALL OF BERLIN (15) GERMANY 2008 FARBERBOCK, MAX DVD – £15.99 BLU RAY – £19.99
Berlin in the final days of World War Two, a woman – known only as ‘Anonyma’ (Nina Foss) – endures repeated rape by Russian soldiers, and tries to wrestle a modicum of control over her destiny by using sex as a tool for survival, forging an uneasy sexual alliance with Russian leader Major Andrei Rybkin
AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE/EDGE OF HEAVEN (15) 2007 GERMANY AKIN, FATIH £19.99
Widower Ali seeks out companionship with the prostitute Yeter, setting in motion a chain of events that will link three families across different cultures, countries and generations.
AKIN’S AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE AND THE WIDENING PERIPHERY BY VIVIEN SILVEY & ROGER HILLMAN
AUS DEM NICHTS/IN THE FADE (18) 2017 GERMANY AKIN, FATIH £15.99
Thriller inspired by real-life events. Katja is a German woman whose life is shattered when her Kurdish husband and her son are killed in a terrorist attack. When the justice system fails, Katja takes the law in her own hands.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE NOTES TO AUS DEM NICHTS
FRENCH LANGUAGE NOTES TO AUS DEM NICHTS
BAADER-MEINHOF KOMPLEX (18) 2008 GERMANY EDEL, ULI £17.99
Berlin in 1967, a horrific riot inspires Ulrike Meinhof to join forces with Andreas Baader to fight the West German state.The pair moves from activism into terrorism, as form and lead the revolutionary terrorist organisation Red Army Faction.
BARBARA (12A) 2012 GERMANY PETZOLD, CHRISTIAN £17.99
Set in pre-Berlin Wall East Germany in 1980. Barbara, a young doctor aims to escape to the West to join her boyfriend .
USING THE FILM IN THE CLASS ROOM IN GERMAN
BARFUSS 2005 GERMANY 2005 Schweiger, TILL £17.99
Romantic comedy about bachelor Nick, who helps and falls in love with an escaped mental patient.
BELLA MARTHA/MOSTLY MARTHA (PG) 2002 GERMANY NETTLEBECK, SANDRA £19.99
A bittersweet comedy about acceptance and the pressures of modern-day life. Martha Klein is the uncompromising head chef in a Hamburg restaurant, whose work is her life until a handsome Italian sous-chef arrives to work with her.
BERLIN 36 (15) GERMANY 2009 HEIDELBACH, KASPAR £15.99
In the days leading up to the 1936 Olympics, the fate of high jumper Gretel Bergmann hangs in the balance as it is decided whether or not a Jewish athlete can be a part of the German Olympic team.
GERMAN TEACHING NOTES TO BERLIN 36
BERLIN – ECKE SCHÖNHAUSER/BERLIN SCHOENHAUSER CORNER/ (PG) 1957 GERMAN KLEIN, G. £14.99 – TITLE UNAVAILABLE, DVD AWAITING RE-ISSUE.
Film about East German teenagers in 1950s .
BLACK BOX BRD 2001 GERMANY VEIEL, ANDRES – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Documentary about RAF terrorist Wolfgang Grams.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY STEFAN VOLK
BLUE EYED 1996 GERMANY VERHAAG, BERTRAM – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Documentary about Jane Elliott, a former teacher in the midwest USA, has committed herself to leading a fight against prejudice, ignorance and racism in society.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY HERBERT HEINZELMANN
DIE BRÜCKE/THE BRIDGE (15) 1959 GERMANY WICKI, BERNHARD £15.99
Poignant, anti-war drama about a group of German boys’ attempts to guard a bridge in the dying days of WWII. As the defeated ranks of the Wehrmacht try to escape the advancing American troops, seven boys from a local village are seconded to guard a strategically worthless bridge. Fired up by the patriotic ideology on offer, the boys’ resolve is put to the test when American tanks suddenly appear, intent on crossing the bridge.
BUDDENBROOKS 2008 GERMANY BRELOER, HEINRICH – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Adaptation of the Thomas Mann novel.
CHIKO (18) 2008 GERMANY YILDIRIM, OZGUR £12.99
Turkish-German director Ozgur Yildirim directs this gritty drama set in the suburban ghettos of Hamburg. Chiko his best friend Tibet are two second-generation Turkish immigrant teenagers who dream of money, power and respect – all attributes local drug lord seems to them to possess.
COMING OUT (15) GERMANY 1989 CAROW, HEINER £19.99
As a boy, Philipp was strongly attracted to his best friend, but he’s put all that behind him in order to live a ‘normal’ life.
CROSSING THE BRIDGE (12) TURKEY 2005 AKIN, FAITH £19.99
German band Einstürzende Neubauten go on a search for the sound of Istanbul.
DEUTSCHLAND, STUNDE NULL/ ALLEMAGNE, ANNÉE ZÉRO/GERMANY, YEAR ZERO (PG) 1947 ITALY ROSSELLINI, ROBERTO IN ITALIAN £14.99
Set among the ruins of Berlin in post-war Germany, the film charts the attempts of a 13 year old boy to support his family.
EDEN (12) 2006 GERMANY HOFMANN, MICHAEL £19.99
Sensual and romantic film centred around food.
EFFI BRIEST (U) 1974 GERMANY FASSBINDER, RAINER WERNER £15.99
Adaptation of Theodor Fontane’s novel set in the late 19th century. 17-year-old Effi Briest (Hanna Schygulla) is pushed into marrying aristocrat Baron Geert von Instetten (Wolfgang Schenck). Unhappy in her marriage, she is seduced by Major Crampas (Ulli Lommel), which causes scandal in her highly regulated society.
When von Instetten learns of their affair, Effi finds herself thrown out of the household with nowhere to go and no one to turn to.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMTIPP GUIDE
ELSER/13 MINUTES (15) 2015 GERMANY HIRSCHBIEGEL, OLIVER DVD – £17.99 BLU RAY – £22.99
Tense Second World War story about a determined Georg Elser (Christian Friedel) who tried to assassinate Hitler in 1939. Captured and questioned by the authorities, Elser reveals through his confession how he was driven to perform such an act by the Nazification of his hometown.
DAS EXPERIMENT (18) 2001 GERMANY HIRSCHBIEGEL, OLIVER £19.99
Thriller based on the 70s Sanford University experiment in which a group of people play prisoners and prison gaurds. An investigative journalist incites a rebellion among the prisoners to juice up his story
DIE FÄLSCHER/COUNTERFEITERS (15) GERMANY 2007 RUZOWITZKY, STEFAN £5.99
True story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936 and using concentration camp labour to carry out the forgeries.
Level: AS, A2, GCSE, Scottish Highers Subject: Citizenship, Film Studies, German, History, Media Studies
GERMAN TEACHING NOTES TO DIE FÄLSCHER
FAUST (15) 2011 SOKUROV, ALEKSANDR £15.99
Aleksandr Sokurov directs this German-language adaptation of the classic tale about a man who sells his soul to the Devil.
DIE FETTEN JAHRE SIND VORBEI/EDUKATORS (15) 2004 GERMANY WEINGARTNER,H. £19.99
Edukadors presents three idealistic activists trying to get by in a corrupt world.
Level: AS, A2, Subject: Film Studies, German, Media Studies
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY INGRID ARNOLD
DIE FETTEN JAHRE SIND VORBEI: ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE FILM
DIE FETTEN JAHRE SIND VORBEI ACTIVITIES AFTER THE FILM
ANSWERS FOR DIE FETTEN JAHRE SIND VORBEI ACTIVITIES AFTER THE FILM
DAS FINSTERE TAL/DARK VALLEY (15) 2014 AUSTRIA PROCHASKA, ANDREAS £15.99
Based on Thomas Willmann Austrian western about a lone rider arriving in a small mountain village intent on taking
on the Brenners, the tyrannical rulers of the village.
FREE RAINER – DEIN FERNSEHER LÜGT 2007 GERMANY WEINGARTNER, HANS – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
DIE FREMDE/WHEN WE LEASE (12) 2010 GERMANY ALADAG, FEO – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Set in Germany a young woman of Turkish descent, fights for he independent against the wishes of her family.
FREMDER FREUND 2010 GERMANY ALADAG, FEO – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Two young men from different cultures share a flat
GEGEN DIE WAND/HEAD-ON(18) 2004 GERMANY AKIN, FATIH £19.99
Award winning drama about two 2nd generation Turks living in Germany.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY ANDREA WIENEN UND HOLGER TWELE
GENDER AND NATIONAL IDENTITY IN GEGEN DIE WAND AND AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE
TEACHING MATERIALS FOR GEGEN DIE WAND
GHETTO 2005 GERMANY JUZENAS, AUDRIUS – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Set in Jew Getto of Vilnius 1942.
GOOD BYE LENIN! (15) 2002 GERMANY BECKER, WOLFGANG £19.99
One of the biggest German comedies of recent times.
Level: A2, GCSE Subject: General Studies, German, History, Media Studies, Politics
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY CRISTINA MOLES KAUPP
GERMAN LANGUAGE STUDY GUIDE BY HANNA OSTERMANN AND STEFFI BOOTHROYD
GOOD BYE, LENIN!: OSTALGIE UND IDENTITÄT IM WIEDER VEREINIGTEN DEUTSCHLAND BY SEÁN ALLAN
HANNAH ARENDT (12A) 2013 GERMANY TROTTA, MARGARETHE VON £17.99
In this drama based on a true story, Barbara Sukowa stars as the German-American political theorist who caused a storm of controversy with her views on the trial of the Nazi war criminal, Adolf Eichmann.
German language study guide for 10 to 16 Year olds – CLICK HERE
HEIDI (U) 2015 GERMANY/SWITZLERAND GSPONER, ALAIN £15.99
Adapted from the Johanna Spyri’s children’s novel. Heidi is a five-year-old orphan living with her grandfather in the Swiss mountains.
IDEEN ZU FILM UND BUCH FÜR DEN UNTERRICHT IN DER GRUNDSCHULE
DER HIMMEL ÜBER BERLIN/WINGS OF DESIRE (PG) GERMANY 1987 WENDERS, WIM £19.99
An Angel watches over Berlin and is entranced by human existence.
IM TOTEN WINKEL – HITLERS SEKRETÄRIN 2002 AUSTRIA HELLER,A/SCHMIDERER, O – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY GERD ALBRECHT
IM LABYRINTH DES SCHWEIGENS/LABYRINTH OF LIES (12) 2014 GERMANY RICCIARELLI, GIULIO £19.99
Germany 1958: Young public prosecutor Johann Radmann finds himself on the case of Nazi war criminal Charles Schulz, but has no idea what really happened in Auschwitz. However he is shocked to find out that many of these death camp workers have returned to their normal lives and now populate the senior ranks of government.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE NOTES TO LABYRINTH DES SCHWEIGENS.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO IM LABYRINTH DES SCHWEIGENS (IN GERMAN)
IM LABYRINTH DES SCHWEIGENS FRENCH LANGUAGE TEACHING NOTES
IM LABYRINTH DES SCHWEIGENS GERMAN CLASSROOM IDEAS
IM LABYRINTH DES SCHWEIGENS GERMAN LANGUAGE PRESS KITIM LABYRINTH
DES SCHWEIGENS GOETHE INSTITUT GERMAN TEACHING NOTES
IMPORT, EXPORT (18 ) 2008 AUSTRIA SEIDL, ULRICH £17.99
Import, Ukrainian nurse leaves her child behind with her mother, traveling to Austria to look for work and new opportunities, Export, Austrian Security guard makes the opposite journey into Eastern Europe, seeking to escape his debts and the increasing urban violence and alienation.
THE INTERROGATION (15) 2016 GERMANY PERY, EREZ £15.99
ENGLISH LANGUAGE NOTES TO INTERROGATION
JENSEITS DER STILLE/BEYOND SILENCE (15) 1996 GERMANY LINK, CAROLINE £15.99
German drama starring Sylvie Testud as Lara, the spirited daughter of two deaf-mute parents. Since early childhood, Lara has acted as a translator and mediator between her parents and the outside world. Now a young woman of 18, Lara is given a clarinet by her revered aunt, and learns to play with rapid success.
GERMAN LANGAUGE FILMBEGLEITHEFT FROM THE IRISH FILM INSTITUTE
KIRSCHBLÜTEN – HANAMI/CHERRY BLOSSOMS (15) 2008 GERMANY DORRIE, SORIS £14.99
German filmmaker Doris Dorrie writes and directs this subtle drama exploring themes of love, death and quiet longing.
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING NOTES TO KIRSCHBLÜTEN – HANAMI
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILM NOTES TO KIRSCHBLÜTEN – HANAMI
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILM NOTES TO KIRSCHBLÜTEN – HANAMI
KLASSENLEBEN (E) 2005 GERMANY SIEGERT, HUBERTUS £19.99 – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Documentary about class at the Fläming-Grundschule in Berlin. The class is unique in its diverse makeup of pupils which include children with physical and mental handicaps, ones who are highly intelligent, some who fit in well and others who have inter-social problems.
KNALLHART/TOUGH ENOUGH (15) 2006 GERMAN BUCK, DETLEV £14.99 – TITLE UNAVAILABLE, DVD AWAITING RE-ISSUE.
When Miriam splits up with her wealthy lover, she and her 15-year-old son Michael are forced to move to run-down Berlin-Neukolln from their previous home in well-to-do Zehlendorf.
KOMBAT SECHZEHN 2005 GERMANY BORSCHT, MIRKO – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
16 year old Georg moves from Frankfurt/Main to Frankfurt/Oder and falls in with a Neo Nazi group
KRABAT/KRABAT AND THE LEGEND OF THE SATANIC MILL (12) 2008 GERMANY KREUZPAINTNER, MARCO £19.99
Fantasy drama about a young man who becomes an apprentice in a mill where he learns the art of sorcery in this 18th Century version of Harry Potter.
Level: AS, A2, GCSE, Scottish Highers Subjects: Citizenship, Film Studies, French, Media Studies
ENGLISH AND GERMAN LANGUAGE FILM NOTES
KREUZWEG/STATIONS OF THE CROSS (15) 2014 GERMANY BRÜGGEMANN, DIETRICH DVD – £14.99 BLU RAY – £15.99
A 14-year-old Catholic girl leaves behind her distraught family as she embarks on a voyage of discovery that takes her through the stations that Jesus travelled on his journey to his crucifixion.
DER KRIEGER UND DIE KAISERIN/THE PRINCESS & THE WARRIOR (15) 2000 GERMANY TYKWER, TOM £15.99
After Sissi is hit by a lorry but her life is saved by Bodo (Benno Fürmann), she determines to get to know him Bodo and look for a chance to repay his kindness.
KROKO 2003 GERMANY ENDERS, SYLKE – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
16 years old Julia calls herself Kroko and plays the role of a tough and ruthless girly gang leader in Berlin-Wedding
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY HOLGER TWELE
LAGERFEUER/WEST (15) 2013 GERMANY SCHWOCHOW, C. £15.99
Based on Julia Franck novel ‘Lagerfeuer’. Nelly along with her son decide to escape East Germany after the mysterious death of her boyfriend. However once in the West the intelligence agencies want to know more about her boyfriend.
LEBEN DER ANDEREN/LIVES OF OTHERS (15) 2006 GERMANY H. VON DONNERSMARCK, F £19.99
Five years before the downfall of the DDR, party-loyalist Captain Gerd Wiesler hopes to boost his career when given the job of collecting evidence against the playwright Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend.
Level: AS, A2, GCSE Subject: Film Studies, German, History, Media Studies
GERMAN LANGUAGE STUDY GUIDE BY RENE KOGLBAUER & SIMONE SCHROT
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PUPIL’S NOTES
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER’S NOTES
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER’S NOTES ANSWERS
LICHTER 2002 GERMANY SCHMID, HANS-CHRISTIAN – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Set among the inhabitants of the Poland Germany border.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY THOMAS MAN
LOLA RENNT/RUN LOLA RUN (15) 1999 GERMANY TYKWER, TOM DVD – £5.99 BLU RAY – £17.99
Heart-stopping suspense thriller of one woman ‘s desperate attempt to save her lover.
Level: AS, A2, GCSE Subject: German,English, Film Studies, Media Studies
GERMAN LANGUAGE WORK MATERIAL AUSTRIAN INST
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING MATERIALS
FRENCH LANGUAGE TEACHING MATERIALS
ONLINE ‘BUILDING BLOCK’ WEB PAGE FOR TEACHING THE FILM
https://lola-rennt.neue-wege-des-lernens.de/lola/
LINKS TO LITERATURE AND NOTES TO THE FILM
https://lola-rennt.neue-wege-des-lernens.de/lola/filmografie/index.html
LORE (15) 2012 SHORTLAND, CATE DVD – £15.99 BLU RAY – £19.99
When her father, an officer in the SS, and her Nazi-supporting mother are taken into custody by allied troops at the end of the war, Lore (Saskia Rosendahl) and her siblings must travel across Germany to their grandmother’s house in Hamburg. On their travels, the group encounter a number of fearful and suspicious people, but it is only when they meet a kind-hearted young Jewish man, Thomas (Kai-Peter Malina), that Lore begins to reassess the feelings of hatred so deeply instilled in her by her parents.
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING MATERIALS
LUTHER 2003 GERMANY TILL, ERIC – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Film about Martin Luther
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY HERBERT HEINZELMANN
MEER IS NICH (15) 2007 GERMANY KELLER, HAGEN £19.99
17 year old Lena is about to finish school in East Germany and is not sure what the future holds
GERMAN TEACHING NOTES TO MEER IS NICH
MEIN BESTER FEIND/MY BEST ENEMY (12) 2011 GERMANY MUMBERGER, WOLFGANG £15.99
Second World War thriller in which the Jewish son of a Viennese art gallery owner holds the key to an artifact which could change the course of the war.
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING MATERIALS
MEIN BLIND DATE MIT DEM LEBEN/MY BLIND DATE WITH LIFE (15) 2017 GERMANY ROTHEMUND , MARC £19.99
Saliya is a promising student determined to achieve his dream of working at a prestigious luxury hotel despite losing the majority of his sight as a teenager. Deciding to hide the fact he is visually impaired, Saliya manages to land an apprenticeship at one of Munich’s top hotels and quickly becomes a respected member of the team.
However, after meeting and falling in love with Laura, Saliya’s elaborate scheme to hide his condition soon begins to fall apart.
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING NOTES TO MEIN BLIND DATE MIT DEM LEBEN
METROPOLIS (U) GERMANY 1926 B/W. FRITZ LANG DVD – £22.99 BLU RAY – £24.99
Early Science Fiction story of a dehumanized future society. This newly restored version now includes 25 minutes which had been discovered in Argentina in 2008
Level: A2, GCSE Subject: Art & Design, German, Film Studies, Media Studies, Politics
ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM NOTES BY MICHAEL WALKER
ORIGINAL PROGRAMME FOR THE BRITISH PREMIÈRE OF FRITZ LANG’S METROPOLIS – 1927
DIE MITTE DER WELT/CENTRE OF MY WORLD (15) 2016 GERMANY ERWA , JAKOB M. £15.99
Based on Andreas Steinhöfel novel. This candid and complex film is about teenager Phil who discovers his sexuality and falls in love with new attractive classmate Nicholas.
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING NOTES TO DIE MITTE DER WELT
MUXMÄUSCHENSTILL 2004 GERMANY MITTERMEIER, MARCUS – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Mux is on a Mission: He has appointed himself to to model his world according to his ideas.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY THOMAS WINKLER
NAPOLA – ELITE FÜR DEN FÜHRER/BEFORE THE FALL (15) 2004 GERMANY GANSEL, DENNIS £15.99
With the Second World War in full swing, two teenaged boys are enrolled in a National Political Academy (NaPolA), a youth facility for the training of future Nazi leaders. One is a working-class boy with a talent for boxing, and the other is the Governor’s sensitive, poetry-loving son. They must both lay aside their innocence and humanity as they prepare to join the Nazi elite.
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING MATERIALS TO NAPOLA
NEBEL IM AUGUST/FOG IN AUGUST (15) 2016 GERMANY WESSEL, KAI £19.99
Set in 1942 and based on Robert Domes’ 2008 historical novel, the film follows 13-year-old Roma boy, Ernst Lossa, is sent to the Sargau mental institution. Here he soon discovers that the Nazi’s are carrying out an enforced euthanasia programme. Along with fellow patient Nandl, Ernst decides to stage a daring escape attempt.
GERMAN LANGUAGE NOTES TO NEBEL IM AUGUST
DAS NETZ – 2003 GERMANY DAMMBECK, LUTZ – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
The film explores the ideas and histories of counter culture visionaries which let to the creation of the internet.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY STEFANIE ZOBL
DER NEUNTE TAG 2004 GERMANY/LUXEMBURG SCHLÖNDORFF VOLKER – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Loosely based on Jean Bernard’s Nazi-era prison diary, the film deals with the Catholics church and its relationship with the Nazi regime.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY HERBERT HEINZELMANN
NICHTS BEREUEN (15) 2001 GERMANY QUABECK, BENJAMIN £19.99
19-years-old Daniel (Daniel Brühl) is back after his summer holiday and wants to date the love of his life, Luca. Although he made the decision four years ago, Luca still knows nothing about it. Daniel decides to change his life dramatically and in the process he meets Anna, a social worker.
RESOURCES TO NICHTS BEREUEN
TEACHER NOTES – NICHTS BEREUEN
NIRGENDWO IN AFRIKA/NOWHERE IN AFRICA (15) 2002 GERMANY LINK, CAROLINE £25.99 – ONLY AVAILABLE IN A GERMAN EDITION WITHOUT ENGLISH SUBTITLES
1938 a German Jewish family moves to Kenya to start a new life.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILM-HEFT VON KLAUS-DIETER FELSMANN
DAS PFERD AUF DEM BALKON (U) 2012 GERMANY TABAK, HÜSEYIN £19.99
10 year old maths loving Mika has Asperger syndrome whose life changes one night when he spots a horse on the balcony of the apartment next door. Then former racehorse is owned by former maths teacher Sascha, who needs to sell the horse to repay a loan. Mika and his friend Dana figure out a plan to save the horse.
RESOURCES TO DAS PFERD AUF DEM BALKON
TEACHER NOTES – DAS PFERD AUF DEM BALKON
BEDEUTUNG DER SZENE FÜR DIE HANDLUNG
PHOENIX (12A) 2015 GERMANY PETZOLD, CHRISTIAN
DVD – £17.99 BLU RAY – £21.99
On her liberation form a concentration disfigured Jewish singer Nelly (Nina Hoss) goes on a search for her husband who she thinks has betrayed her.
PREUßISCH GANGSTAR 2007 GERMANY IRMA-KINGA STELMACH I K/WERNER, B – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Story of three long people living in Brandenburg
REQUIEM (15) 2006 GERMANY SCHMID, HANS-CHRISTIAN £19.99
Based on the true story of a 23-year old student in Germany who died of starvation following an exorcism in 1976, the film provide a chilling insight into the nature of possession and blurs the lines between pious religiosity and the dark side
REVANCHE (15) 2009 GERMANY GÖTZ SPEILMANN £15.99
A stunning and gripping Oscar nominated thriller.
ROSENSTRAßE (12) GERMANY 2003 TROTTA, MARGARETHE VON £15.99
The film tells the story of a group of German women who were married to Jewish men and how their men and children were arrested and confined in a prison in Rosenstrasse by the Nazis. The women set up a protest group , demanding that the authorities give back their men.
GERMAN FILM NOTES TO ROSENSTRAßE
DER ROTE KAKADU 2006 GERMANY GRAF, DOMINIK – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
A coming-of-age story set in Germany in the 1960s.
SAMURAI (15) 2014 GERMANY KLEINERT, TILL £14.99
German thriller in which a young police officer called Jakob tries to uncover the truth behind recent events plaguing his small, remote village.
SCHERBENPARK (12) 2013 GERMANY BLÜMNER, BETTINA £17.99
Based on Alina Bronsky novel about troubled teenager Sascha, a Russian immigrant living in a rough part of Stuttgart. Sascha cannot come to terms with her step-fathers murder of her mother.
After a sympathetic newspaper interview with her imprisoned step-father, Sascha confronts the papers editor , who in turn feels guilty and invites her into his family life. Gradually in this environment Sascha begins to mature into someone more open and accepting of the world’s flaws.
DAS SCHRECKLICHE MÄDCHEN/NASTY GIRL (PG) 1990 GERMANY VERHOEVEN, MICHAEL £19.99
Delicious black comedy about a modern German schoolgirl whose essay ‘My Town during the Third Reich’, stirs up memories of Nazi deeds long forgotten and ignored.
SOMMERSTURMSUMMER STORM (15) 2004 GERMANY KREUZPAINTNER, MARCO £19.99 – TITLE UNAVAILABLE, DVD AWAITING RE-ISSUE.
Heartening story about the complexities of growing up.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY CRISTINA MOLES KAUP
SOPHIE SCHOLL (PG) 2005 GERMANY ROTHEMUND, MARC DVD – £19.99 BLU RAY – £24.99
Account of the last days of the White Rose resistance group members, Sophie and Hans Scholl.
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING MATERIALS
SOUL KITCHEN 2009 GERMANY AKIN, FAITH – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Comedy about a young Greek man living in Germany who own restaurant and juggling dealing with his brother, girlfriend and eccentric chef
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING MATERIALS
STATUS YO! 2003 GERMANY HASTREITER, TILL – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Energetic hip-hop film that tell the story of one eventful night in the Berlin.
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY PETRA ANDERS UND MANFRED RÜSEL
TONI ERDMANN (15) 2016 GERMANY ADE, MAREN DVD – £19.99 BLU RAY – £22.99
Award winning comedy, in which divorced music teacher Winfried tries to reconnect with his career-driven daughter Ines. To do this Winfried integrates himself into Ines work circle and takes on the alter ego of the practical joker ‘Toni Erdmann’ as a way of cheering her up.
TONI ERDMANN GERMAN FILM NOTES
TONI ERDMANN SCREENPLAY ENGLISH
TONI ERDMANN ENGLISH PRESS NOTES
TONI ERDMANN FRENCH PRESS NOTES
DER STILLE BERG/1915 – BATTLE FOR THE ALPS (12) 2014 AUSTRIA GOSSNER, ERNST £15.99
Love story set in the Dolomite Mountains in 1915 at the outbreak of war between Italy and Austria.
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING MATERIALS TO THE FILM
STRAJK – DIE HELDIN VON DANZIG 2006 GERMANY/ POLEN SCHLÖNDORFF, VOLKER – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
How a poorly educated woman becomes one of the founders of Poland’s Solidarity movement.
TSCHICK/GOODBYE BERLIN (TBA) 2016 GERMANY AKIN, FATIH £18.99 DER TUNNEL (12) 2001 GERMANY RICHTER, ROLAND SUSO £15.99
Cold War thriller set in 1961. After fleeing the Communist regime in East Berlin, Harry Melchior is now determined to go back for his sister and her family.
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING NOTES
UNSERE MÜTTER, UNSERE VÄTER/GENERATION WAR (15) 2013 GERMANY KADELBACH, PHILIPP DVD – £19.99 BLU RAY – £29.99
Three-part German drama set during the Second World War.
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING NOTES
DIE UNSICHTBAREN– WIR WOLLEN LEBEN/THE RESISTANCE (12) 2017 GERMANY RÄFLE, CLAUS £12.99
1943 and the Nazi’s have declared Berlin free of Jews. However this is far from the truth, 7000 Jews have successfully gone underground. However four young Jews survive in the middle of Berlin by living so recklessly that they become “invisible.”
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILM S NOTES TO UNSICHTBAREN
DER UNTERGANG/DOWNFALL(15) 2004 GERMANY HIRSCHBIEGEL, OLIVER £15.99
Film of Hitler’s final days in his Berlin bunker which caused controversy by humanising the Fuhrer.
Level: AS, A2, GCSE, Subject: German, History, Media Studies
DOWNFALL AND BEYOND HITLER FILMS FROM GERMANY MARTIN BRADY AND HELEN HUGHES
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING MATERIALS TO DER UNTERGANG
VIER MINUTEN/FOUR MINUTES (15) 12006 GERMANY KRAUS, CHIRS £17.99
Tough young piano prodigy-turned criminal Jenny is serving time in a women’s prison in Germany. She meets her match in the elderly Traude, who has been teaching piano to the inmates. An upcoming pianist’s competition is an opportunity not to be missed, so the pair plot a daring escape
VIER MINUTES ARBEITSMATERIAL ZUM FILM
DIE WAND/THE WALL (12) 2012 GERMANY JULIAN PÖLSLER £15.99
Martina Gedeck stars in this contemporary female Robinson Crusoe story. Based on Marlen Haushofer’s best-selling.
GERMAN LANGUAGE NOTES TO DIE WAND BY RENE KOGLBAUER
DAS WEIßE BAND/THE WHITE RIBBON (15) GERMANY 2009 HANEKE, MICHAEL DVD – £15.99 BLU RAY – £24.99
In a village in Protestant northern Germany, on the eve of World War I, the children of a church and school run by the village schoolteacher and their families experience a series of bizarre incidents that inexplicably assume the characteristics of a punishment ritual. Who could be responsible for such bizarre transgressions?
SEQUENZPROTOKOLL UND DVD-ÜBERSICHT
GERMAN FILM GUIDE DAS WEIßE BAND
GERMAN LANGUAGE NOTES TO DAS WEIßE BAND
GERMAN TEACHING SUGGESTIONS FOR DAS WEIßE BAND
DIE WELLE/THE WAVE (15) 2008 GERMANY GANSEL, DENNIS £17.99
In an attempt to engage his students in politics, a high school teacher takes the controversial decision to turn the classroom into a Nazi-style dictatorship. But what starts out as an innocent social experiment ends in tragedy when the roots of fascism begin to take hold of the students.
GERMAN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM MATERIALS
SEQUENZPROTOKOLL UND DVD-OVERVIEW
TEACHING MATERIALS – QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FILM IN GERMAN
WER WENN NICHT WIR?/IF NOT US, WHO? (15) 2011 GERMANY VEIEL, ANDRES £15.99
Fictionalised portrait of the tumultuous relationship between two 1970s German left-wing political militants: Bernward Vesper (August Diehl) and Gudrun Ensslin (Lena Lauzemis). As Gudrun becomes more and more politically involved, the couple’s relationship comes under increasing strain and she eventually leaves Bernward and their baby son for the charismatic political rebel Andres Baader (Alexander Fehling); founder of the Red Army Faction terrorist group depicted in the 2008 film ‘The Baader-Meinhof Complex’.
Level: AS, A2, GCSE, Subject: German, History
GCSE-AS-LEVEL TEACHING NOTES BY RENE KOGLBAUER TO WER WENN NICHT WIR
WESTERN (12A) 2017 GERMANY GRISEBACH, VALESKA £15.99
A group of German construction workers are building a power plant in the Bulgarian countryside and treat the local with contempt.
However, older German worker, Meinhard, befriends some of the Bulgarians, which creates hostility from both the other workers and the native population.
WHO AM I – KEIN SYSTEM IST SICHER (15) 2014 GERMANY ODAR, BARAN BO £19.99
Benjamin is a socially inept young German computer geek, who is invited to join a hacker group by the charismatic Max. Benjamin finally feels he belongs and wants to gain recognition and status among the hackers community.
GERMAN LANGUAGE TEACHING NOTES
WIE FEUER UND FLAMME/NEVER MIND THE WALL 2001 GERMANY WALTHER, CONNIE – NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD
Story of two lover who can finally link up after the fall of the Berlin Wall
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY INGEBORG HAVRAN
WIR SIND DIE NACHT/WE ARE THE NIGHT (15) 2010 GERMANY GANSEL, DENNIS £12.99
German horror in which an oppressed young woman finds a sense of both liberty and terror in vampirism.
WOLKE 9/CLOUD 9 (15) 2008 GERMANY DRESEN,ANDREAS £12.99
The film explores fidelity, desire and love in the twilight years and subverts convention to present a brave account of young love in old age.
DAS WUNDER VON BERN/MIRACLE OF BERN (PG) 2003 GERMANY WORTMAN, SONKE £19.99
Set in the summer of 1954 when the West German team won the World World Cup and the country finally emerged from the shadow of the Second World War.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM NOTES BY TOBIAS HOCHSCHERF
GERMAN LANGUAGE FILMHEFT BY PHILIPP BÜHLER
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PUPIL’S NOTES
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER’S NOTES
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER’S NOTES ANSWERS
TEACHING NOTES BY RENE KOGLBAUER TO WUNDER IN BERN
YELLA (12) 2007 GERMANY PETZOLD, CHRISTIAN £19.99
Yella leaves her home in the East Germany for a promising job and a new life, but as success is within reach, she finds herself haunted by truths from the past.
FRENCH LANGUAGE TEACHING NOTES TO YELLA
ZWEI MÜTTER/TWO MOTHERS (18) GERMANY 2013 BERRACHED, ANNE ZOHRA £15.99
Two Mothers is an intense exploration of the trials and tribulations a same sex couple encounters in their desire to become loving parents.
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On this page I will be posting an ongoing series in which I will try to put together an overview of resources and reviews for individual European films. Hopefully it will both be of help to people studying the film and teachers using it as teaching aid in Schools and Universities, as well as for people who might just want more info on the film.
FILMS COVERED SO FAR –
DIE WELLE/THE WAVE (15) 2008 GERMANY GANSEL, DENNIS £17.99
BAADER-MEINHOF KOMPLEX (18) 2008 GERMANY EDEL, ULI £17.99
LEBEN DER ANDEREN/LIVES OF OTHERS (15) 2006 GERMANY H. VON DONNERSMARCK, F £19.99
DIE WELLE/THE WAVE (15) 2008 GERMANY GANSEL, DENNIS £17.99
German drama exploring the nature of fascism. Rainer Wegner (Jurgen Vogel) is a high school teacher who is less than enthusiastic when he finds himself relegated to teaching the concept of autocracy as part of the school’s project week. His students, similarly uninspired, approach the project with complacency and apathy – until Rainer hits on the novel idea of devising an unorthodox experiment within the class.
To show what life would be like under fascism, Rainer begins to introduce various disciplines for his pupils to follow. However, the experiment quickly grows out of control and develops into an exclusive cult – ‘the wave’ – with its own uniform and salute. Even the self-professed anarchist Rainer starts to become intoxicated with his new status as cult leader.
The film is based on the novel by Todd Strasser, which in turn was inspired by true events that took place in Palo Alto, California.
In German with English subtitles
German Filmtipp Study Guide – Filmtipp Die Welle
German Language Classroom Materials – Die welle Arbeitsmaterial zum film
Study material in German – DIE WELLE THE WAVE 2008 GERMANY GANSEL Classroom Materials – WWW.WORLDONLINECINEMA.COM
Sequenzprotokoll und DVD-Overview – DIE WELLE THE WAVE 2008 GERMANY GANSEL Sequenzprotokoll und DVD-Übersicht – WWW.WORLDONLINECINEMA.COM
Study material in German – DIE WELLE THE WAVE 2008 GERMANY GANSEL Study material in German – WWW.WORLDONLINECINEMA.COM
Vocabulary list – Die-Welle-Vocab-List
Teaching Materials – Questions about the film in German – DW-Fragen
Dvd available to buy at – https://www.worldonlinecinema/Home/german-films-on-dvd
LEBEN DER ANDEREN/LIVES OF OTHERS (15) 2006 GERMANY H. VON DONNERSMARCK, F £19.99Five years before the downfall of the DDR, party-loyalist Captain Gerd Wiesler hopes to boost his career when given the job of collecting evidence against the playwright Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend.Level: AS, A2, GCSE Subject: Film Studies, German, History, Media Studies
ARTICLES –“Truer than the Real Thing”: “Real” and “Hyperreal” Representationsof the Past in Das Leben der Anderen by Wendy Westphal -https://www.google.co.uk/url?http://www.donnersmarck.com/assets/pdf/florian-literature/DLA-141.pdfThe Lives of Others: East Germany revisited –
http://www.ghi-dc.org/files/publications/bulletin/bu041/110.pdfVisual story telling and history as a great toy – the Lives of Others by Gerry Coulter –
http://widescreenjournal.org/index.php/journal/article/viewFile/33/50TRAILER -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3_iLOp6IhMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7rK_bfsQbsPRESS REVIEWSSpiegel article in German – http://www.donnersmarck.com/assets/pdf/florian-literature/DLA-8.pdfOFFICIAL FILM WEBSITE LINK TO LITERATURE TO THE FILM –http://www.donnersmarck.com/florian.html
OTHER LINKS –FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH AND ITALIAN FILM RESOURCE PAGE –http://www.worldonlinecinema.com/Home/online-resources-listed-by-film
BAADER-MEINHOF KOMPLEX (18) 2008 GERMANY EDEL, ULI £17.99
Berlin in 1967, a horrific riot inspires Ulrike Meinhof to join forces with Andreas Baader to fight the West German state. The pair moves from activism into terrorism, and form and lead the revolutionary terrorist organisation Red Army Faction (RAF)., who fight the West German state in a misguided attempt to redress the wrongs of the Nazi generation.
In German with English subtitles
Dvd available to buy at –https://www.worldonlinecinema/Home/german-films-on-dvd
Links to resources –
GERMAN LANGUAGE STUDY GUIDE –
BAADER-MEINHOF KOMPLEX 2008 GERMANY EDEL WWW.WORLDONLINECINEMA.COM Unterrichtsheft
GERMAN LANGUAGE WORK MATERIAL –
BAADER-MEINHOF KOMPLEX Arbeitsmaterial zum Film WWW.WORLDONLINECINEMA.COM
KEY TERMS –
http://germanfilm.co.uk/files/2013/08/BMK-Key-Terms.pdf
TRANSCRIPTS –
http://germanfilm.co.uk/files/2013/08/Baader-Meinhof-Complex-Transcript.pdf
POINTS OF DISCUSSION –
http://germanfilm.co.uk/files/2013/08/BMK-Points-for-Discussion.pdf
http://germanfilm.co.uk/files/2013/07/BMK-Points-for-Discussion-2.pdf
PRESS REVIEWS –
New York Times – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/movies/16kapl.html?_r=2&
Vanity Fair review – http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/hitchens-guerrillas200908
Die Welt German language review –
http://www.welt.de/kultur/article2459708/Der-grosse-Baader-Meinhof-Konsens.html
FACEBOOK PAGE –
https://www.facebook.com/TheBaaderMeinhofComplex
A companion piece to the Der Baader Meinhof Komplex is the following film –
WER WENN NICHT WIR?/IF NOT US, WHO? (15) 2011 GERMANY VEIEL, ANDRES £15.99
Fictionalised portrait of the tumultuous relationship between two 1970s German left-wing political militants: Bernward Vesper (August Diehl) and Gudrun Ensslin (Lena Lauzemis). As Gudrun becomes more and more politically involved, the couple’s relationship comes under increasing strain and she eventually leaves Bernward and their baby son for the charismatic political rebel Andres Baader (Alexander Fehling); founder of the Red Army Faction terrorist group depicted in the 2008 film ‘The Baader-Meinhof Complex’.
In German with English subtitles
Dvd available to buy at – https://www.worldonlinecinema/Home/german-films-on-dvd
STUDY GUIDE TO THE FILM –NSFW_IfNotUsWho
OTHER LINKS –
FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH AND ITALIAN FILM RESOURCE PAGE –
http://www.worldonlinecinema/Home/online-resources-listed-by-film
www.worldonlinecinema.com 
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