Best Movies To Learn German Language: Watching media (Movies and TV Shows) in a foreign language can help you learn that language, as suggested by TV-watching habits in Europe.
A 2016 study also indicated that turning on subtitles can help you learn a language, meaning you can watch a German film with German subtitles to improve your listening comprehension.
Plus, by watching German-language films, you’ll get exposed to native speakers’ different regional dialects, pronunciations and slang. And while you’re at it, you’ll also learn about the culture itself, whether it’s humor if you’re watching a comedy, history if you’re watching a historical drama or just how people communicate with one another. All of this is crucial knowledge to prepare you for conversation with native speakers.
Here you’ll find our list of the top German movies. Obviously, this isn’t a complete list of movies produced in Germany, just our favourites that we think will entertain you. On Wikipedia, you can get a more advanced list, and IMDB even offers a rated list.
Best Movies To Learn German Language
Sonnenallee
When it comes to comedy German movies, this is a good choice.
Sonnenallee is a comedy film from the year 1999 about life in East Berlin, the communist party of the divided German nation in the late 70s. Sonnenallee itself is a street in Berlin that was intersected by the border.
The movie is about the pop culture and pop music in East Berlin. It shows the absurdity of everyday life in East Germany under the socialist government. The movie was well-received by the German audience, especially by those who grew up in the GDR.
Bibi Blocksberg
Bibi Blocksberg, a lovable teen witch figure up there in the ranks with other famous German children’s characters like Pippi Langstrumpf and Käpt’n Blaubär, is the original German Harry Potter. The delightfully kitschy, early 2000s film rendition details Bibi’s coming-of-age as she explores developing magical powers and encounters evil for the first time.
If you’re just starting out in your German language learning journey, this is a good place to begin, as the lively characters make this children’s movie enjoyable for adults as well. The simple plot and dialogue are sprinkled with silly, nonsensical Hexensprüche (spells) ideal for grasping basic vocabulary.
Good Bye Lenin
The movie Good Bye Lenin, released in 2003, is a tragicomedy film that features some of the most famous German actors, including Daniel Brühl. This is another story that takes place in East Germany, and centers on the socialist state of the GDR. But this time, the story takes place in 1990, right after the reunion of the two German nations.
A mother falls into a coma in 1989, and when she wakes up, her beloved East Germany isn’t there anymore. Her son tries to protect her from a fatal shock by concealing the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Das Leben der Anderen
This Oscar-winning drama was released in 2006 and takes place, once again, in socialist East Germany in the year 1984.
Here, an agent of the secret police called Stasi conducts surveillance on a free writer and his lover, and finds himself emotionally touched by the couple’s lives. This is a must-watch for any movie-lover.
Read Also: German Essays on My Family: Meine Familie
Der Untergang
This historical drama, released in 2004, features the last days of the Nazi regime around the person Adolf Hitler in his bunker. It’s set during the battle of Berlin in WWII. This movie is based on the book from his former secretary Traudl Junge, and other accounts during this time. The movie not only shows the person Hitler as bad and evil, but also plays with the human side of Adolf Hitler.
Das Experiment
This is one of my personal favorite German films of all time.
This German thriller (not quite a German movie horror) was released in 2001 and shows a social experiment in which twenty male participants are hired to play either prisoners or guards. The ten prisoners have to follow the orders and the guards have to establish order without using violence. This results in an interesting experiment about humanity, leadership, social difficulties, and more. You’ll be emotionally touched by this movie—and shocked at the same time.
Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage
This historical drama from 2005 is about the last days of Sophie Scholl who was a part of the White Rose, a non-violent anti-Nazi resistance group.
With her brother Hans, she and their group make leaflets showing the crimes of the Nazi regime and deploy them illegally in the University of Munich. She was found guilty and executed on the same day.
Die wilden Kerle
Here we have not just one movie, but five.
A group of friends form a football team and have their own pitch. A group of older and stronger kids take their field and a rivalry forms. These movies have a special character and aren’t formed only around the subject of football. They also show the process of growing up as a boy (and as a girl), basic relationships, family problems, and the importance of a childlike nature.
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
This play is about a German left-oriented terrorist organization from the 60s and 70s called The Red Army Faction. They organized bombings, robberies, and even assassinations. The movie was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.
Keinohrhasen
This movie, released in 2007, features the famous German actor Til Schweiger playing a press reporter who was sentenced to eight months, but instead chooses to work 300 hours in a daycare center with children. He’s not a family person at all, and fairly free with women. There he meets Anna, who is an old classmate from Ludo. She has unfinished business with him and the film walks a good borderline between love and comedy.
Read Also: Difference between ein, eine, einen, and einem in the German Language
Deutschland: Ein Sommermärchen
This documentary film accompanies the German national football team during their preparations, and during the World Cup in their own country in 2006.
It starts at the bootcamp in Sardinia and follow the team through to third place in the playoffs against the national team from Portugal. It does a great job of showing how the excitement that national teams have to play a World Cup in their own country, while also covering topics of sportsmanship and the professional football world.
Friendship!
If you’re from the US, you’ll enjoy this hilarious clash-of-cultures film, Friendship!, directed by Markus Goller. With borders suddenly open after the fall of the Berlin Wall, two friends from East Germany spontaneously decide to take a road trip across America. Strapped for cash and equipped with only a handful of English phrases, the two embark on an odyssey destined for comedic mishaps.
As the German dialogue is often punctuated with English, this movie won’t exhaust your learning attention span and is a great introduction for beginner speakers. You’ll definitely pick up some youth slang, as well as some German pop culture references, along the way.
Nosferatu – Phantom der Nacht
Both a twist on Bram Stoker’s Dracula and tribute to F. W. Murnau’s classic silent film, Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu is a perfect fit for horror fans. This eerily breathtaking film takes us back to 19th century Germany, where a young real estate agent must travel to Transylvania to sell a property to Count Dracula. As with most vampire stories, the ensuing story is tragic.
With the slow plot pace and drawn out cinematic shots, the shorter dialogue sequences are easy to follow. As a bonus, beginner and intermediate speakers are bound to pick up some kooky, outdated words along the way.
Lola rennt
Another exciting movie to start with is Tom Tykwer’s Lola rennt (which you may recognize from the English title, “Run Lola Run”). This acclaimed film follows Lola, a determined, red-haired punk rushing to save her boyfriend’s life by obtaining 100,000 Deutsche Mark in only 20 minutes. The story is told through a butterfly-effect, so the audience sees Lola reliving the same 20 minutes over and over. This gives her the chance to make different decisions with varying outcomes — and it’s a non-stop adventure.
Besides being action-packed, the film’s cyclical plot and recurring dialogue is suitable for training your basic, every-day conversational skills. As the movie was filmed in 1990s Berlin, it’s also a great introduction to the capital city’s aesthetic and personality.
Absolute Giganten
This movie follows three young friends, one of whom has decided to leave Hamburg since his probation for a juvenile offense is up. He doesn’t tell his friends about his plans until the day before, leaving them confused about why he would abandon them. As a result, their last night together involves partying, foosball, music and cars.
The main themes in the movie—friendship and leaving home—are universal ones that make this an easy movie to follow. There’s no specialized vocabulary to make it any more complicated than listening to a group of friends talking, and they don’t speak in a dialect that’s difficult to understand.
Die Feuerzangenbowle
Similar to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Die Feuerzangenbowle” requires audience interaction in some circles. It’s become a tradition at some universities throughout Germany to have massive “Die Feuerzangenbowle” viewings around Christmas, where audience members will be raising their glasses, turning on flashlights, ringing alarm clocks and quoting famous lines.
“Die Feuerzangenbowle” is a great way for beginning German learners to get some specific cultural insights, especially since it’s a movie people get really enthusiastic about. The movie itself, being filmed and released at the end of World War II, is funny and light, serving as a short distraction from the reality at the time.
The story follows a man who, due to being homeschooled, goes back to school disguised as a youth to experience what he’s missed out on. He pulls pranks on teachers and the school director and in the meantime, falls in love with the director’s daughter.
The movie is actually based on a 1933 novel by Heinrich Spoerl, which you might enjoy reading first before watching the screen adaptation.
Sissi
Right after World War II, a genre of movies called Heimatfilm (homeland film) became popular in Germany. The genre romanticized life in the countryside and had simple stories, often entailing clearly “good” and “bad” characters that fight for the love of a woman with the “good” guy always winning. The plot is easy enough to follow and once you’ve seen one Heimatfilm, you’ve almost seen them all.
“Sissi” is a classic Heimatfilm that Germans all know. The simple plot follows the main characters Princess Elisabeth, nicknamed Sissi, her sister Néné and the young Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I, and how the three of them get caught between betrothals, familial obligation and love.
For a beginner, “Sissi” has a simple enough plot to follow that you won’t get lost concentrating on what the characters are saying. Since the movie is actually Austrian and the characters are Austrian and Bavarian, the accents might be a slight challenge with the slightly rolled “r.” The good thing is that the accents are still very clear compared to what you might actually encounter in Bavaria or in Austria.
Almanya: Willkommen in Deutschland
Yasemin Şamdereli’s Almanya (Turkish for “Germany”) takes a modern look at the country’s history of recruiting Gastarbeiter (guest workers) from Turkey to offset the post-World War II labor shortage. It’s an entertaining, bittersweet and genuine portrait of a multi-generational, Turkish-German family confronting its unique intersection of cultural identities.
The clear and accessible language spoken in the film will help intermediate learners pick up words used in familial settings and daily life. Through the backdrop of humorous (mis-)communication and culture clashes, you’re also bound to gather insight into the vibrant, East-meets-West society woven throughout Germany.
Soul Kitchen
Set in working-class Hamburg, Fatih Akın’s Soul Kitchen brings to life a saga of two Greek-German brothers, Zinos and Illias, scrambling to keep a rundown restaurant in business. Throughout the story, a diverse cast of characters redefine in their own way what it means to be German through relationships, music and food.
Its simple plot, mixed with fast-paced dialogue, is beneficial for intermediate learners wanting to take their comprehension skills up a notch. The movie offers a variety of vocabulary related to various topics like tax collection, physical therapy, real estate and culinary arts.
Bella Martha
Sandra Nettelbeck’s underrated Bella Martha is a true gem of a movie and a great resource for learners. Compelling acting skills pair with a beautiful film score to create a charming romantic drama centered around chef Martha Klein, who has to come to terms with an unexpected personal tragedy amidst her workaholic lifestyle. It’s a story about loss, laughter and, most of all, food.
Bella Martha deals with complex personal themes, so it’s a treasure trove of intimate emotion and relationship-based vocabulary, perfect for intermediate and advanced learners looking to move past casual every-day conversations. Some specialized culinary terminology adds just the right amount of linguistic flavor.
Read Also: Reasons Why Germany is a Best Travel Destination!
You got a glimpse of Best Movies To Learn German Language that you should watch. By now, you should know how German movies with subtitles can help you to improve your German language skills and why movies in learning German make the learning process more efficient. .
What do you think your favourite German movie will be from our list? Drop us a comment to let us know.
