Andrew's Top 15 German Films (Part One)

I've always enjoyed many aspects of German culture, mostly from a dilettante's perspective, without being able to comprehend the language with much success. Hence when it comes to reading the likes of Thomas Mann or listening to Die Prinzen I'm at a distinct disadvantage. However when it comes to the German cinema I've the recompense of relying on a far more visual form of entertainment which here in Australia is subtitled, hence making it far more accessible. Whilst I am aware that in many ways German cinema of the silent and early talkie period is far more important historically and artistically, it is mostly the film of the past 25 years from Deutschland that has grabbed my attention. I'm aware of the works of great German auteurs such as Pabst, Murnau, Wenders, Fassbinder and Herzog but it is the more recent film makers who create a German film language I can comprehend. Here are fifteen of my favourite German movies:

15. Liegen Lernen (Learning to Lie)
In my view "Liegen Lernen" is similar in spirit and thematically to one of my all time favourite films, "High Fidelity". The lead character Helmut (played with a general sense of emotional immaturity by Fabian Busch) spends most of his life (and therefore most of the movie) trying to cope with the women in his life. However it's his first great love Britta (Susanne Bormann) and the associated disillusionment of their break-up that determines all his attachments, and until he negotiates the resolution of that relationship there is no 'go forward' for Helmut. You don't actually like him as a character but he does deserve sympathy for being just a mere male without the good sense to understand where is life is now. There are some mildly amusing scenes but really this is a lightweight guy flick that has enough simple truths to make its viewing enjoyable. One of the first films I saw at the Sydney leg of the German Film festival, way back in 2004.

14. Schwere Jungs (Heavyweights)
On the surface this is a facile German take on the sports comedy which in Hollywood terms would be most closely paralleled with "Cool Runnings". However there is enough Bavarian-specific references in the film as well as some reasonably pointed references as to how the aftermath of the Second World War impacted upon the German protagonists that gives "Schwere Jungs" a little more depth than a Teutonic "Mighty Ducks III" for example. Some of the comedy is distinctly German-centric but there are also elements of the film that are comedic no matter the language. German comedies sometimes don't translate well at all (the Michael Bully Herbig films are certainly in this category) but "Schwere Jungs" gives enough reasons to smile without having to have come from Bavaria.



13. Männer Wie Wir (Balls)
Another German sports comedy film, this time dealing with the most important athletic activity known to Germans (i.e. Fußball - soccer) and homosexuality. The central character of Ecki is a goal keeper for a small team who is vilified and rejected by his team mates when he comes out of the closet. Determined to seek revenge (plus on the way find a boyfriend and prove himself to his baker father) Ecki forms a new team which consists purely of fellow gays which takes on (and unsurprisingly beats) his old homophobic colleagues. The humour is accessible to the non-German thanks to both the broader style of the film plus the sensibilities of the movie aren't divorced from the American background of the director. However there are moments when having some familiarity with German culture, and particularly the football mad environment of Dortmund helps. Perhaps not as politically correct nor as polished as English language comedies of a similar ilk there are still a few laughs to be had. Also I enjoyed the work of Christian Berkel as the leather-clad Rudolf whose son helps the team and in turn grows closer to his father. Berkel is one of those German actors who pops up in so many German films, ranging from "Männer Wie Wir" through to the likes of "Der Untergang" and even the recent Tom Cruise vehicle "Valkyrie".



12. Comedian Harmonists (The Harmonists)
One of the first films from what I consider to be the new age of German cinema (post-Herzog, Wenders and Fassbinder) to receive both popular success and a degree of critical acclaim outside of Germany, "Comedian Harmonists" is the story of a group of six jazz/swing vocalists who must deal with both internal conflict and fame whilst Germany shifts from Weimar indulgence to Nazi restrictions. To further complicate matters half of the group are Jewish, which ultimately challenges the group's existence in the anti-semitic environment of Hitler's Germany. This is a movie which has many elements from the traditional show-biz biopic formula (struggling band searches for success, attains success, queries that success etyc etc) but the obvious differentiation between this movie and (for example) a Hollywood classic like "Rhapsody in Blue" is that the film makers are attempting to understand via the metaphor of the Comedian Harmonists how Germans willingly accepted Nazism. The political and historical aspects of the movie are very important, and the scene involving the group and arguably the most strident Jew hater of all upper echelon Nazis, Julius Streicher, is a crystallisation of how Germans chose their destiny one way or the other. However "The Comedian Harmonists" isn't a dogmatic film, it is also immensely enjoyable because of the music, and the manner in which the actors mouth the original (and very real) band. With this movie German popular cinema of the last 15 years began to confront the nation's recent history cinematically whilst also making an entertaining film.



11. Nirgendwo in Afrika (Nowhere in Africa)
Another German film examining the experience of Jews during the holocaust, "Nirgendwo..." is the story of a family which flees the Nazis in 1938, emigrating to British Kenya, and in the process finding both hope and despair, community and isolation. Very much a tale about the 'outsider', the pivotal relationship between the husband Walter and his wife Jettel undergoes several dramatic shifts as their love seems to waver in the face of all the hurdles thrown up by their life in the Kenyan bush. However whilst this happens Jettel finds herself, and their daughter Regina grows up in harmony with the bush and the local tribes folk. There is a dignity expressed in the Kenyan characters that is attractive to the viewer and as part of the story also appeals to the Germans. Juliane Köhler as Jettel provides a performance that underpins the rest of the cast and film, and it could be argued this is a feminist film as well as an anti-imperial one. However that is undermined by the film's ending. Cinematically beautiful and at times sprawling in plot as it is in setting, "Nirgwendo in Afrika" was also the winner of Best Foreign Language Oscar in 2003 which made it the trendsetter for much of the Oscar success for recent German films. Maybe a tad melodramatic and possibly a "chick flick" in conventional Hollywood terms, I still find "Nirgendwo in Afrika" immensely rewarding.