Spotlight: Face to Face with German Films
Mein Kampf
The never before shown truth of Hitler's Reich.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland • 2009
- Director Urs Odermatt
- Cast Götz George, Tom Schilling, Anna Unterberger, Wolf Bachofner, Simon Schwarz, Henning Peker
- Genre Drama, Comedy
- Available on Amazon Video
The People vs. Fritz Bauer
(Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer)
Attorney General Fritz Bauer works with Israeli intelligence to bring Adolf Eichmann to trial.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2015
- Director Lars Kraume
- Cast Burghart Klaußner, Ronald Zehrfeld, Sebastian Blomberg, Jörg Schüttauf, Lilith Stangenberg, Laura Tonke
- Genre History, Drama
- Available on Cohen Media Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kino Now, Tubi TV, Kanopy
Inglourious Basterds
Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France...
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, United States • 2009
- Director Quentin Tarantino
- Cast Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger
- Genre Drama, Action, Thriller, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Transit
Georg, after assuming the identity of a dead writer, meets Marie — the wife of the man whose identity he stole.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, France • 2018
- Director Christian Petzold
- Cast Franz Rogowski, Paula Beer, Godehard Giese, Lilien Batman, Barbara Auer, Matthias Brandt
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kanopy, Plex,
Toni Erdmann
In this absurdist tale of estrangement, a practical joker visits his workaholic daughter in an attempt to rekindle their relationship.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Austria, Monaco • 2016
- Director Maren Ade
- Cast Sandra Hüller, Peter Simonischek, Michael Wittenborn, Thomas Loibl, Trystan Pütter, Ingrid Bisu
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Never Look Away
(Werk ohne Autor)
A young West German art student in love must grapple with his past, and that of his family and his country.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Italy • 2018
- Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- Cast Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer, Saskia Rosendahl, Oliver Masucci, Lars Eidinger
- Genre Drama, History, Thriller
- Available on Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Western
A thriller on the frontier of Eastern Europe.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Bulgaria, Austria • 2017
- Director Valeska Grisebach
- Cast Meinhard Neumann, Reinhardt Wetrek, Syuleyman Alilov Letifo, Veneta Frangipova, Viara Borisova
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, YouTube
Perfume
(Parfum)
An old group of friends are investigated after one of them is murdered.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2018
- Creator Oliver Berben, Philipp Kadelbach, Eva Kranenburg
- Cast Friederike Becht, Wotan Wilke Möhring, Juergen Maurer, Ken Duken, Natalia Belitski, August Diehl
- Genre Crime
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Dogs of Berlin
They're about to cross a line.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2018
- Creator Christian Alvart
- Cast Felix Kramer
- Genre Action & Adventure
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Advertising Rules!
(Viktor Vogel - Commercial Man)
After stumbling into an advertising career, Viktor must choose between love and success.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2001
- Director Lars Kraume
- Cast Alexander Scheer, Götz George, Chulpan Khamatova, Maria Schrader, Vadim Glowna, Heinz-Werner Kraehkamp
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Video, Tubi TV
Dark
The complicated lives of locals living in a small German town are revealed during a search for missing children.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, United States • 2017
- Creator Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese
- Cast
- Genre Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Berlin Station
Daniel Miller moves from American to work undercover in Berlin.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States, Germany • 2016
- Creator Olen Steinhauer
- Cast Richard Armitage, Rhys Ifans, Richard Jenkins, Michelle Forbes, Leland Orser, Tamlyn Tomita
- Genre Action & Adventure
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video
13 Minutes
(Elser)
One man's act of resistance, thwarted by time.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Italy • 2015
- Director Oliver Hirschbiegel
- Cast Christian Friedel, Katharina Schüttler, Burghart Klaußner, Johann von Bülow, Felix Eitner
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
The White Ribbon
(Das weisse Band)
In rural Germany just before World War I, strange things are happening to a once-ordinary, authoritarian village society.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Austria, France • 2009
- Director Michael Haneke
- Cast Ursina Lardi, Ulrich Tukur, Burghart Klaußner, Christian Friedel, Leonie Benesch, Susanne Lothar
- Genre Drama, Mystery
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube
Frantz
A young woman grieving the death of her fiancé meets a mysterious French man who's visiting her fiancé's grave.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Germany • 2016
- Director François Ozon
- Cast Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stötzner, Marie Gruber, Johann von Bülow, Anton von Lucke
- Genre History, Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, fuboTV, OVID, Dekkoo, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Crackle, Tubi TV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kanopy, Plex,
Deutschland
A young spy comes of age in the divided Germany of 1983 where everyone is hiding something.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2015
- Creator Anna Winger
- Cast Jonas Nay, Maria Schrader
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Amazon Video
Hannah Arendt
Her ideas changed the world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Luxembourg, France • 2012
- Director Margarethe von Trotta
- Cast Barbara Sukowa, Axel Milberg, Janet McTeer, Julia Jentsch, Nicholas Woodeson, Ulrich Noethen
- Genre Drama
- Available on Chai Flicks, Metrograph, Apple TV, Kino Now, Kanopy
In the Aisles
(In den Gängen)
Coworkers flirt over coffee in this supermarket drama.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2018
- Director Thomas Stuber
- Cast Sandra Hüller, Franz Rogowski, Peter Kurth, Henning Peker, Ramona Kunze-Libnow, Sascha Nathan
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, fuboTV, OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Crackle, Tubi TV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kanopy, Plex,
A Woman in Berlin
(Anonyma - Eine Frau in Berlin)
World War II ends and her story begins.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Poland • 2008
- Director Max Färberböck
- Cast Nina Hoss, Evgeniy Sidikhin, Juliane Köhler, August Diehl, Irm Hermann, Rüdiger Vogler
- Genre Drama, War, History
- Available on Hoopla, Amazon Video
Lore
When your life is a lie, who can you trust?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Australia, United Kingdom • 2012
- Director Cate Shortland
- Cast Saskia Rosendahl, Kai-Peter Malina, Nele Trebs, Ursina Lardi, Hans-Jochen Wagner, Mika Seidel
- Genre Drama, War, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Fandor Amazon Channel, Hoopla, OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Freevee, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kanopy, Plex,
Requiem
She claimed she was possessed. There was no way to know for sure.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2006
- Director Hans-Christian Schmid
- Cast Sandra Hüller, Burghart Klaußner, Imogen Kogge, Friederike Adolph, Anna Blomeier, Nicholas Reinke
- Genre Drama, Horror
- Available on AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV
Keine Lieder über Liebe
Tobias tries to find out if his brother had an affair with his girlfriend while the couple makes a documentary about his brother's band.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2005
- Director Lars Kraume
- Cast Florian Lukas, Jürgen Vogel, Heike Makatsch, Monika Hansen, Thees Uhlmann, Marcus Wiebusch
- Genre Music, Drama, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Labyrinth of Lies
(Im Labyrinth des Schweigens)
A young lawyer in post-war Germany works to punish Nazis that worked in the camps and uncovers family secrets along the way.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2014
- Director Giulio Ricciarelli
- Cast Alexander Fehling, André Szymanski, Friederike Becht, Johann von Bülow, Hansi Jochmann
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Starz, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Vudu
You Are Wanted
A man works to prove his innocence after a hacker implicates him in a crime.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2017
- Creator Richard Kropf, Hanno Hackfort
- Cast Matthias Schweighöfer
- Genre Drama, Mystery
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Westwind
Two aspiring oarswomen's lives are changed dramatically during a training camp at Lake Balaton in Hungary.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Hungary • 2011
- Director Robert Thalheim
- Cast Friederike Becht, Luise Heyer, Franz Dinda, Volker Bruch, Hannes Wegener, Hans-Uwe Bauer
- Genre Drama, Comedy, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Barbara
A Story of Love and Subterfuge with Simmering Intelligence.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2012
- Director Christian Petzold
- Cast Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Jasna Fritzi Bauer, Mark Waschke, Rainer Bock, Alicia von Rittberg
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, Apple TV, Kino Now, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kanopy
Weissensee
Romeo and Juliet meets the communist East Berlin of the 1980s.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2010
- Creator Friedemann Fromm
- Cast Florian Lukas, Uwe Kockisch, Jörg Hartmann, Ruth Reinecke, Katrin Sass, Anna Loos
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Video, Hoopla, MZ Choice Amazon Channel, Mhz Choice
Babylon Berlin
Welcome to the city of sin.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2017
- Creator Tom Tykwer, Achim von Borries, Henk Handloegten
- Cast Volker Bruch, Liv Lisa Fries, Leonie Benesch, Denis Burgazliev
- Genre Drama
- Available on The Roku Channel, MZ Choice Amazon Channel, Mhz Choice
Combat Girls
(Kriegerin)
A young woman who is part of a Neo-Nazi group meets an afghan refugee who challenges her worldview.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2011
- Director David Wnendt
- Cast Alina Levshin, Jella Haase, Sayed Ahmad, Gerdy Zint, Lukas Steltner, Uwe Preuss
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kino Now, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Plex,
Amour Fou
(Amour fou)
A "romantic comedy" based loosely on the suicide of the poet Henrich von Kleist in 1811.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Austria, Luxembourg, Germany • 2014
- Director Jessica Hausner
- Cast Christian Friedel, Birte Schnoeink, Stephan Grossmann, Katharina Schüttler, Hana Sofia Lopes
- Genre Drama, Comedy, Romance
- Available on Hoopla, Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Kanopy
Lou Andreas-Salomé, The Audacity to be Free
(Lou Andreas-Salomé)
Lou Andreas-Salomé, the woman who enraptured 19th century Europe’s greatest minds, recounts her life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Austria, Italy • 2016
- Director Cordula Kablitz-Post
- Cast Katharina Lorenz, Julius Feldmeier, Nicole Heesters, Merab Ninidze, Carl Achleitner
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Hoopla, Apple TV, Amazon Video
We Are Young. We Are Strong.
(Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark.)
A nation united leaves a city divided.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2014
- Director Burhan Qurbani
- Cast Devid Striesow, Jonas Nay, Trang Le Hong, Joel Basman
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Tiger Girl
Tigers don't mess around.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2017
- Director Jakob Lass
- Cast Ella Rumpf, Maria Dragus, Enno Trebs, Franz Rogowski, Orce Feldschau, Benjamin Lutzke
- Genre Action
- Available on Midnight Pulp, Amazon Video, Pantaflix, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Cineverse
Phoenix
A noirish study of treachery, identity, and survival.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Poland • 2014
- Director Christian Petzold
- Cast Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Nina Kunzendorf, Trystan Pütter, Michael Maertens, Imogen Kogge
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
The Captain
(Der Hauptmann)
A deserter of the Nazi army stumbles upon an officer's uniform and soon finds people following him.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, France, Poland • 2017
- Director Robert Schwentke
- Cast Max Hubacher, Milan Peschel, Frederick Lau, Marko Dyrlich, David Scheller, Sebastian Rudolph
- Genre Drama, History, War
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Hoopla, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Freevee, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Plex,
Spotlight: GermANIMATION
Waltz with Bashir
(Vals Im Bashir)
When a young soldier has trouble accessing memories of a massacre, conversations with others help piece his memories together.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Israel, France, Germany • 2008
- Director Ari Folman
- Cast Ari Folman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Dror Harazi, Ronny Dayag
- Genre Animation, Documentary, Drama, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Maya the Bee: The Honey Games
May the best bug win.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Australia • 2018
- Director Sergio Delfino
- Cast Coco Jack Gillies, Benson Jack Anthony, Richard Roxburgh, Justine Clarke, Marney McQueen, Peter McAllum
- Genre Comedy, Family, Animation, Adventure
- Available on Hoopla, Peacock, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Freevee, Shout! Factory TV, Plex,
Ooops! Noah is Gone...
One ark, 50,000 animals. What could go wrong?
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg • 2015
- Director Sean McCormack
- Cast Dermot Magennis, Callum Maloney, Tara Flynn, Ava Connolly, Paul Tylak, Alan Stanford
- Genre Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Pluto TV
The Gruffalo's Child
Beware the monster!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Germany • 2011
- Director Johannes Weiland
- Cast Helena Bonham Carter, Shirley Henderson, Robbie Coltrane, Rob Brydon, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson
- Genre Adventure, Animation, Family, Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Laura's Star
(Lauras Stern)
When you wish upon a star...
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2004
- Director Thilo Rothkirch
- Cast Céline Vogt, Sandro Iannotta, Maximilian Artajo, Brit Gülland, Heinrich Schafmeister, Mirco Nontschew
- Genre Animation, Family
- Available on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Video
Argentina, 1985
A team of lawyers sets out to prosecute Argentina's brutal military dictatorship in this legal thriller inspired by real events.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Argentina, United States • 2022
- Director Santiago Mitre
- Cast Ricardo Darín, Peter Lanzani, Alejandra Flechner, Paula Ransenberg, Carlos Portaluppi, Antonia Bengoechea
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Impy's Island
(Urmel aus dem Eis)
An island comes together to save a baby dinosaur.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2006
- Director Reinhard Klooss
- Cast Wigald Boning, Anke Engelke, Florian Halm, Christoph Maria Herbst, Stefan Krause, Oliver Pocher
- Genre Animation, Family, Fantasy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Luis and the Aliens
Extraterrestrial. Extra trouble.
- ✭ ✭
- Germany, Luxembourg, Denmark • 2018
- Director Christoph Lauenstein
- Cast Michaël Gregorio, Dermot Magennis, Ian Coppinger, Paul Tylak
- Genre Animation, Family, Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction
- Available on Hulu, Hoopla, Peacock, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free
Heidi
Like a ray of sunshine, Heidi lights up and soothes the hearts of the people around her.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Australia, Germany • 2015
- Creator Christel Gonnard
- Cast Jamie Croft
- Genre Animation, Family, Kids
- Available on Apple TV
Tehran Taboo
Four young people from Tehran, Iran are forced to break the taboos of a restrictive Islamic society.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Austria • 2017
- Director Ali Soozandeh
- Cast Arash Marandi, Alireza Bayram, Siir Eloglu, Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, Klaus Ofczarek
- Genre Drama, Animation
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kino Now, Kanopy
The Little Vampire
They're not just best friends, they're blood brothers.
- ✭ ✭
- Germany, Netherlands, United States • 2000
- Director Uli Edel
- Cast Jonathan Lipnicki, Richard E. Grant, Jim Carter, Alice Krige, Pamela Gidley, Tommy Hinkley
- Genre Family, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
Happy Family
You are what you wear.
- ✭ ✭
- Germany, United Kingdom • 2017
- Director Holger Tappe
- Cast Emily Watson, Nick Frost, Jason Isaacs, Jessica Brown Findlay
- Genre Animation, Family, Fantasy, Comedy
- Available on Hulu, Hoopla, Peacock, Vudu, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Freevee, Xumo Play
Moon Man
(Der Mondmann)
Moon man must decide between doing his duty and exploring Earth.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Germany, Ireland • 2012
- Director Stephan Schesch
- Cast Tomi Ungerer, Katharina Thalbach, Ulrich Tukur, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Noethen
- Genre Family
- Available on Hoopla, Peacock, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Freevee, Redbox, Plex,