Watching German movies is one of the most effective ways to build listening comprehension and vocabulary in context. Or, you can simply enjoy some entertainment. And with today’s easy access to streaming services, you can watch German movies on Netflix from your sofa with your partner or from bed in your pajamas with your dog.
This curated list focuses on the best German-language films currently streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in 2026, with picks ranging from light comedies to award-winning historical dramas.
Start the popcorn and clear your schedule. And don’t forget this is educational. Mostly! These films will thrill you, make you laugh, make you cry, and leave you wanting more. Some are light, and some are more serious.
And after you’ve watched all of these German movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, check out my list of the best German television shows you can stream online!
If you’re looking to get a taste of the Bavarian countryside or Munich, I’ve also put together a list of 13 Great Movies Filmed in Munich & Bavaria. Or if episodic watching is more your style, check out 16 TV Shows Set in Munich & Bavaria.
Updated in February 2026, to add new films and remove those that are no longer available for streaming.
If you’re watching German movies to improve your language skills, these tips will help you get the most out of streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Several of the films below are especially useful for intermediate and advanced German learners due to clear dialogue and contemporary vocabulary.
At-A-Glance: German Movies Streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video
| Film | Genre | Where to Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Rising High | Crime Drama | Watch on Netflix |
| Isi & Ossi | Romantic Comedy | Watch on Netflix |
| Gladbeck: The Hostage Crisis | Documentary / True Crime | Watch on Netflix |
| And Tomorrow the Entire World | Political Drama | Stream on Netflix |
| Buba | Comedy | Watch on Netflix |
| I’m Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch) | Sci-Fi Romanc | Watch on Netflix |
| All Quiet on the Western Front (Im Westen nichts Neues) | Historical Drama | Stream on Netflix |
| In the Fade | Revenge Drama | Stream on Amazon Prime Video |
| Ninth Day | World War II Drama | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| Frantz | Part-War Drama / Arthouse | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| Transit | Political Drama / Literary Adaptation | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| The Wave | Classroom Drama | Stream on Amazon Prime Video |
| Welcome to Germany | Social Comedy | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| Spiderwebhouse | Psychological Thriller | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| Rosenstrasse | Historical Drama / Women-Led Story | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| A Minute’s Silence | Romantic Drama / Coming-of-Age Story | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| Der Untergang | World War II / Biographical Drama | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| Das Boot | War Thriller / Claustrophobic Drama | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| Louis van Beethoven | Biographical Drama | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| Adidas vs. Puma: The Brother’s Feud | Business Drama / True Story | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| It’s for Your Own Good | Comedy / Family Satire | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| Cut Off | Crime Thriller / Suspense | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| Undine | Romantic Drama / Modern Myth | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| The Hidden Life of Trees | Documentary / Nature | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
| Calendar Killer | Thriller | Watch on Amazon Prime Video |
Streaming on Netflix
Rising High
Rising High (or Betonrausch in German) is directed and written by Cüneyt Kaya. The film stars David Kross, Frederick Lau, and Janina Uhse. The dramatic film tells the story of two real estate agents, Viktor Stein (Kross) and Gerry Falkland (Lau), and banker Nicole (Uhse). They find a large amount of success very quickly. However, their success is not earned; it is a fraudulent scheme. As with all things that go up, they must come down, especially when motivations are driven by greed and lust for power.
Best for: Best crime drama · Best based-on-a-true-story film
Watch Rising High on Netflix →.
Isi & Ossi
In the romantic comedy made-for-Netflix German movie from 2000, Isi & Ossi, Isi is the daughter of a billionaire. Still, she dreams of a career in the culinary industry. But her parents are not exactly happy with the idea. So Isi comes up with a plan. She convinces Ossi, a young man struggling to pay his bills as a boxer, to pretend to be in a romantic relationship with her. Both agree with the plan for self-serving reasons. At least in the beginning.
Best for: Best romantic comedy · Best for beginners (language)
Watch Isi & Ossi on Netflix →.
Gladbeck: The Hostage Crisis
While many of the films on this list are fictional, Gladbeck: The Hostage Crisis is all too real. The shocking documentary covers a hostage drama that played out in the German city from August 16th through the 18th of 1988.
What started when the two men robbed a bank and then took two employees hostage becomes much larger. The film is solely composed of news footage of the event. A few journalists, willing to do anything for a story, even interview the men during the heist. It becomes a media circus with deadly consequences as the men commit even more brazen acts.
Best for: Best documentary · Best for true crime fans
Watch Gladbeck: The Hostage Crisis on Netflix →.
And Tomorrow the Entire World
Luisa, a law student portrayed by Mala Emde, decides to follow her heart and join a politically active leftist commune in Mannheim. She does so for all of the right reasons in 2020’s And Tomorrow the Entire World. But she quickly feels disillusioned and disappointed. Luisa feels as though she – and the group – could and should be doing more.
When she comes into possession of a tip of an upcoming neo-Nazi event, she convinces two of her colleagues — Alfa (portrayed by Noah Saavedra) and Lenor (portrayed by Tonio Schneider) — to take more drastic action, including acts of violence. That is when things get more complicated, and the group is left to consider their actions.
Best for: Best political drama · Best conversation starter
Stream And Tomorrow the Entire World on Netflix.
Buba
Fans of the Netflix streaming series How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) will already be familiar with Bjarne Mädel as Buba. The Netflix streaming film Buba is a prequel to the series.
In the film, Buba (government name: Jakob Otto) is just your average small-town con man making money as he can. However, unfortunately for him, whenever things go well, karma ensures that something bad follows. After his parents die in an accident, Buba and his brother Dante decide they need to make life as miserable as possible to offset any joy. The pair joins the local mafia.
Best for: Best comedy · Best for casual viewing
Watch Buba on Netflix →.
I’m Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch)
In the 2021 science fiction film Ich bin dein Mensch (I’m Your Man), Maren Eggert stars as Alma, a scientist working at Berlin’s Pergamon Museum.
Alma is offered financing for her research, but in exchange, she has to participate in an unusual study. For three weeks, she is required to live with Tom (portrayed by Dan Stevens), a robot designed to be her perfect partner.
What seems like a straightforward experiment quickly becomes entangled in the realities of being a human.
The film received widespread critical acclaim, including several wins for Eggert’s performance as best actress.
Best for: Best sci-fi romance · Best character-driven film
Watch I’m Your Man now on Netflix →.
All Quiet on the Western Front (Im Westen nichts Neues)
Filmmaker Edward Berger’s 2022 film version of All Quiet on the Western Front received rave reviews and critical acclaim. It is based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque and set during World War I. Felix Kammerer stars as Paul, an eager teenager who enlists in the Imperial German Army with the belief that Germany is on the verge of winning the war. But how wrong he is. The reality of the situation is a hard lesson, as he watches his childhood friends die right in front of him. He befriends Kat, an older soldier portrayed by Albrecht Schuch. Daniel Brühl stars as Matthias Erzberger, the German State Secretary, who worked to negotiate an end to the war.
Best for: Best historical drama · Best award-winning film
Stream All Quiet on the Western Front now on Netflix →.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
In the Fade
Diane Kruger stars in Fatih Akin‘s 2017 film In the Fade (Aus dem Nichts). Kruger portrays Katja in the film as a woman whose husband has just been released from prison for a drug-dealing charge. But during his time in prison, he has turned his life around. Then suddenly, Katja’s husband and their 6-year-old son are killed by a bomb planted by Neo-Nazis. With her life in pieces, Katja decides to search for answers. And she seeks revenge.
Director Akin is one of the country’s top filmmakers and has been making some of the best German movies in recent years.
Best for: Best revenge drama · Best for serious viewers
Stream In the Fade on Amazon Prime Video →.
Ninth Day
Longtime German director Volker Schlöndorff takes on World War II in the film The Ninth Day. Set in 1942, a Catholic priest from Luxembourg is imprisoned in the Dachau Concentration Camp. One day, he is unexpectedly released from the absolute horrors of the camp for nine days. But things become complicated for the priest when the Gestapo gives him an ultimatum: convince the bishop to cooperate with the Nazis, or else!
Best for: Best World War II drama · Best for history lovers
Watch Ninth Day on Amazon Prime Video →.
Frantz
The 2016 German-language film Frantz streaming on Amazon Prime Video is inspired by the 1932 film Broken Lullaby. In this modern take on the story, Paula Beer portrays Anna, a young German woman whose fiancé has been killed in World War I. But Anna’s feelings are complex. While she mourns at the grave of her fiancé, she encounters an unknown Frenchman who is also paying his respects. The man is a French soldier dealing with his own complex feelings of remorse. The film is in black and white, a technique that really adds to the character of the story.
Best for: Best post-war drama · Best arthouse film
Watch Frantz on Amazon Prime Video →.
Transit
Director Christian Petzold brings Anna Seghers’ 1944 novel Transit to the big screen in his 2018 adaptation of the same name. The film sees a German political refugee named Georg escaping to occupied Paris. There, he attempts to deliver a letter to a well-known writer but finds he has committed suicide. He collects the author’s belongings, including a letter offering him safety in Mexico. But in order to use the letter, Georg has to impersonate the writer and needs the help of the writer’s estranged wife.
Best for: Best political drama · Best literary adaptation
Watch Transit on Amazon Prime Video →.
The Wave
Based on Todd Strasser’s novel of the same name, The Wave tells the story of a history class in Germany. The teacher, Rainer Wenger, wants to show his students how quickly and easily humankind can be manipulated. He conducts a social experiment through a series of incremental changes. The students have to address him formally. Then they are paired up. Before long, the students are wearing uniforms and using a special greeting. (Starting to sound familiar?) But the experiment quickly gets out of hand.
Jürgen Vogel portrays Wenger while Frederick Lau and Elyas M’Barek are two of the students. Liv Lisa Fries also appears in the film.
Best for: Best classroom film · Best conversation starter
Stream The Wave on Amazon Prime Video →.
Welcome to Germany
Known as Willkommen bei den Hartmanns in Germany, the 2016 film is Welcome to Germany in the English-speaking world. In the film, a rich Munich family offers to take in a refugee from Nigeria. The family patriarch is skeptical at first, but he eventually relents. However, no good deed goes unpunished. The family and Diallo, the refugee, have to deal with racism, paranoia, and other complications.
The cast includes some big names in German films. Senta Berger and Heiner Lauterbach play parents to Florian David Fitz and Palina Rojinski. Elyas M’Barek portrays one of Lauterbach’s coworkers.
Best for: Best social comedy · Best for contemporary Germany
Watch Welcome to Germany on Amazon Prime Video →.
Spiderwebhouse
Suspense runs high in 2017’s Spiderwebhouse. In the film, a 12-year-old boy named Jonas has to step up and take on responsibility. Jonas needs to care for his younger siblings when their mother disappears, seemingly abandoning them. But with the children home alone, they become fearful. Their house feels less like a home and more like a haunted building. Slowly, the children find themselves slipping away.
Best for: Best psychological thriller · Best suspense film
Watch Spiderwebhouse on Amazon Prime Video →.
Rosenstrasse
Veteran filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta transports viewers of her 2003 film to 1943 Germany for the Rosenstrasse protest. The protest, which took place in the early part of 1943, was the only mass public protest by Germans against Nazi Germany’s deportation of Jews. The protest was started by the non-Jewish wives and family members of Jewish men who were targeted.
In the film, the children of a Jewish woman discover their mother’s past experiences during the war. And those experiences are more traumatic and serious than her daughter Hannah ever realized.
Best for: Best historical drama · Best women-led story
Watch Rosenstrasse on Amazon Prime Video →.
A Minute’s Silence
In the German-made-for-TV movie A Minute’s Silence (or Schweigeminute), a moment of silence is observed in honor of the memory of a young woman who taught English in the Baltic fishing village in northern Germany. But for some, Stella was more than just an English teacher. The film recounts the summer love affair between Stella and Christian, one of her 18-year-old students.
Jonas Nay portrays Christian, and Julia Koschitz is Stella in this film from 2016.
Best for: Best romantic drama · Best coming-of-age story
Watch A Minute’s Silence on Amazon Prime Video →.
Der Untergang
Director Oliver Hirschbiegel’s critically acclaimed 2004 film Der Untergang depicts the final days of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Hitler, portrayed by Bruno Ganz, is surrounded by some of his ministers and military leadership, but he seems unwilling to accept the inevitable and lashes out at his advisors.
Heino Ferch appears in the film as Nazi official Albert Speer and Ulrich Matthes portrays propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Actress Alexandra Maria Lara portrays Hitler’s private secretary, Traudl Junge, whose later memoir served as a basis for the film.
Best for: Best World War II film · Best biographical drama
Watch Der Untergang now on Amazon Prime Video →.
Das Boot
Das Boot, the 1981 film version of Lothar-Günther Buchheim’s 1973 novel of the same name, transports the audience to World War II. The story follows a German submarine, or U-Boot, as they patrol during the Battle of the Atlantic.
Within the tight confines of the submarine, there is nowhere to go, and tensions run high. And that is before you even consider that the crew of the submarine is in the middle of a war. The film keeps viewers on the edge of their seats with thrilling action.
Jürgen Prochnow portrays the captain of the U-boat, an experienced sailor who does not always agree with the way the war is being run. Musician-slash-actor Herbert Grönemeyer stars as a war correspondent who is embedded with the crew and unprepared for what he is about to experience.
Best for: Best war thriller · Best claustrophobic drama
Watch Das Boot on Amazon Prime Video →.
Louis van Beethoven
Tobias Moretti stars as the famous musical prodigy in the 2020 film Louis van Beethoven. But, as you may have noticed from the title, this film puts a bit of a twist on history. The made-for-television film follows his life from childhood to adulthood, documenting his successes as well as his struggles.
Best for: Best biographical drama · Best for classical music lovers
Watch Louis van Beethoven on Amazon Prime Video →.
Adidas vs. Puma: The Brother’s Feud
In 1919, a pair of German brothers started a company manufacturing shoes. The company, Geda, flourished. Jesse Owens even wore their shoes when he won a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
But thirty years later, the brothers had a falling out. It split not only the family but also the company. From that disagreement, each brother founded his own competing company. Adidas and Puma became serious rivals. The 2016 film Adidas vs. Puma: The Brother’s Feud explores that split.
Best for: Best business drama · Best based-on-a-true-story film
Watch Adidas vs. Puma on Amazon Prime Video →.
It’s for Your Own Good
In the film It’s for Your Own Good, lawyer Arthur (Heiner Lauterbach), construction worker Kalle (Jürgen Vogel), and physical therapist Yus (Hilmi Sözer) are three brothers-in-law whose daughters have all fallen in love. But the trio is not exactly fans of the boyfriends. So the fathers make a pact to scare the boyfriends off. And no idea seems too far-fetched or crazy for their plan.
Best for: Best comedy · Best family satire
Watch It’s for Your Own Good on Amazon Prime Video →.
Cut Off
Based on the thrilling novel of the same name by Sebastian Fitzek and Michael Tsokos, Cut Off stars Moritz Bleibtreu as Paul Herzfeld, a medical examiner.
While examining a body that has sustained significant abuse and mutilation, he discovers a hidden capsule. Within the capsule is a piece of paper with the phone number of his teenage daughter. Herzfeld becomes pulled into a dark and dangerous world when he discovers his daughter has been kidnapped.
The film also stars Lars Eidinger.
Best for: Best crime thriller · Best for Fitzek fans
Watch Cut Off on Amazon Prime Video →.
Undine
Paula Beer stars as the title character in Christian Petzold‘s 2020 film Undine.
The young woman suffers a personal setback when Johannes, the man she is having an affair with, decides to end things. She decides to play up the ancient myth of Undine, a water nymph. The human Undine tells Johannes she will have to kill him for leaving her.
When Undine begins a new relationship with Christoph (portrayed by Franz Rogowski), a professional diver. When he takes her diving with him, the water has a profound impact on Undine.
Best for: Best modern myth · Best romantic drama
Watch Undine on Amazon Prime Video →.
The Hidden Life of Trees (Das geheime Leben der Bäume)
In his best-selling book, forester Peter Wohlleben explores how he says trees feel and communicate. Trees are social and take care of their offspring. The 2020 documentary The Hidden Life of Trees (Das geheime Leben der Bäume) explores Wohlleben’s research more deeply.
Best for: Best documentary · Best for nature lovers
Watch The Hidden Life of Trees on Amazon Prime Video →.
Calendar Killer (Heimweg)
Sabin Tambrea stars as Jules, who takes phone calls from women at a safety helpline, in 2025’s Heimweg. It is a normal day at work until he receives a phone call from Klara, portrayed by Luise Heyer.
Clearly upset, Klara tells him she’s being followed by the Calendar Killer. And he gives her a choice: either she kills her husband, or she will be killed.
The thriller is based on Sebastian Fitzek’s novel from 2020 of the same name.
Best for: Best thriller · Best for Fitzek fans
Watch Calendar Killer on Amazon Prime Video →.
Tips for Language-Learners Streaming German Movies on Netflix & Amazon Prime
- From a language learning point of view, you will (obviously) want the films to be in German. Whether or not you need subtitles depends on your language skills. Many streaming services may hardcode the subtitles, meaning you can’t turn them on and off. Some services will allow you to enable/disable subtitles. Sometimes this can be on a film-by-film basis.
- It’s a safe bet that all of these streaming services will offer subtitles in the local language if the film isn’t dubbed. One exception to this is that many of the German movies on Netflix, especially newer ones, will offer subtitles in German. For language learning, this is always preferable to subtitles in your native tongue.
- Don’t have a subscription to a streaming service to watch these German movies on Netflix, Amazon, or another service? Some films are available for a fee to rent or on other platforms.
- Don’t limit yourself to this list. There are many more German movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Sometimes they are easy to find. Sometimes you have to dig a bit. Netflix’s German movies are categorized as such.
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