Great German Films

I’ve been thinking about German cinema. Early in film history, German Expressionists led the world in new film ideas. Filmakers like Robert Wiene, Fritz Lang and Friedrich Murnau were world renowned. Things changed during the lead-up and aftermath of World War II. German films remained secondary players on the world stage until after the fall of the wall. The unification led to an explosion in filmmaking and freedom of ideas and expression. Communism doesn’t allow for much free expression! This is a short list of some wonderful German films for you to enjoy. I have left some well-known films, like ‘Das Boot’, off the list. These movies are lesser known, but also quite wonderful. 10 Great German films that you might have missed!

Good Bye Lenin!

Heart-warming story of a man who desperately wants to protect his very ill mother from shock after she comes out of a lengthy coma. Set in 1990, he must fabricate the now extinct East Germany (DDR), which fell while she was in that coma. Daniel Bruhl, in his pre-Marvel Cinematic Universe days, portrays the loving son.

The Baader Meinhof Complex

This 2008 classic is an in-depth look at the Red Army Faction, a German terrorist group during the 1960s and 1970s. The story of members of the group is played against the story of Horst Herold, the police chief tasked with their capture. Amazing film showing humans and their, at times, inhumanity.