The 30th Anniversary of German Unity Day
In recognition of the 30th anniversary of German Unity Day, we offer these films about life in Germany before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Some are about national identity, others are about political division, and all are about Vergangenheitbewältigung -- or the process of reckoning with the past.
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 Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Suspiria
A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, United States • 2018
- Director Luca Guadagnino
- Cast Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth, Angela Winkler, Ingrid Caven, Elena Fokina
- Genre Horror, Fantasy
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Freevee
Deutschland 83
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, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
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.
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, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
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
The Baader Meinhof Complex
(Der Baader Meinhof Komplex)
The children of the Nazi generation vowed fascism would never rule their world again.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, France, Czech Republic • 2008
- Director Uli Edel
- Cast Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Nadja Uhl, Stipe Erceg, Niels-Bruno Schmidt
- Genre Action, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Freevee, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
The Lives of Others
(Das Leben der Anderen)
Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's secret police listened to your secrets.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2006
- Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- Cast Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme, Hans-Uwe Bauer
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
Good Bye, Lenin!
The German Democratic Republic lives on -- in 79 square meters!
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2003
- Director Wolfgang Becker
- Cast Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sass, Chulpan Khamatova, Maria Simon, Florian Lukas, Alexander Beyer
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
After Winter Comes Spring
(Winter adé)
Helke Misselwitz travels from one end of the GDR to the other to interview women of all backgrounds and ages.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- East Germany • 1989
- Director Helke Misselwitz
- Cast Helke Misselwitz
- Genre Documentary
- Available on DocAlliance Films, Kanopy
Wings of Desire
(Der Himmel über Berlin)
There are angels on the streets of Berlin.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- West Germany, France • 1987
- Director Wim Wenders
- Cast Bruno Ganz, Otto Sander, Solveig Dommartin, Curt Bois, Peter Falk, Hans Martin Stier
- Genre Drama, Fantasy, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
The Legend of Paul and Paula
(Die Legende von Paul und Paula)
A married bureaucrat and a single mother of two fall in love in this infamous tragicomedy.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- East Germany • 1973
- Director Heiner Carow
- Cast Angelica Domröse, Winfried Glatzeder, Heidemarie Wenzel, Fred Delmare, Rolf Ludwig, Käthe Reichel
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Kanopy