Hans-Christian Schmid is not only an award-winning director but also a screenwriter and a film producer. His films range from coming of age tales to dramas focusing on finding justice for war crimes. If nothing else, they’re fascinating observations, sometimes dealing with real individuals and situations. So this month, let’s learn German with the films of Hans-Christian Schmid!
When actor Bruno Ganz passed away in February, like many I was surprised and saddened. I have watched many of Ganz’s films and yet, I realized while planning German film posts for 2019, he had never been featured. So ubiquitous to German language cinema, I had always assumed I’d written a German film post about Ganz. Now here we are with a posthumous German film post, honoring the man and his remarkable career. German language learners looking to practice with film will be delighted by the works starring Bruno Ganz, so let’s get going!
For more than the last three decades, Detlev Buck has been acting, starring, and directing films that have won over moviegoers. Since almost the beginning of his career, Buck has not limited himself to a single form of expressing his creativity. He’s directed big name German movie stars like Til Schweiger, Moritz Bleibtreu, Matthias Schweighöfer, and Alexandra Lara. He’s starred in his own films as well as those directed by others, including Michael Haneke‘s The White Ribbon. Buck’s even directed music videos for the likes of Die Ärzte. With such a well-rounded career and decades of experience, Detlev Buck is a great filmmaker for German language learners. So this month, let’s learn German with the films of Detlev Buck!
In 2017, Babylon Berlin starring actress Liv Lisa Fries hit televisions around the world. The 1920s crime series is the most expensive non-English language television drama. While the television series was an introduction for some of Germany’s most exciting young actors to audiences that, ordinarily, may not watch a non-English show. But for German language learners, let’s use this opportunity to get to know Liv Lisa Fries. The young actress is racking up appearances in films and on television and receiving critical acclaim while doing so. This month’s let’s practice German with the films of Liv Lisa Fries!
For decades, Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke has been shocking film audiences with his controversial and award-winning films. Often dark and psychological, Haneke’s films are thrilling and dramatic. While Haneke’s films are frequently in English and French, many of Haneke’s other films are in the German language. This month, let’s learn German using the films of Michael Haneke!
Since the mid-1970s, Munich-born director Dominik Graf has been working in film and television. And for his body of work, Graf has been nominated for countless awards both in Germany and internationally. From wildly popular German television shows like Tatort to Beloved Sisters, the German entry for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards, Graf is an accomplished director with a variety of works under his belt. This month, let’s practice German with the films of director Dominik Graf!
Actress Katharina Schüttler may look familiar to viewers of Channel 4’s The Promise. The British television series from 2011 featured the German actress alongside Claire Foy, before she went on to portray Queen Elizabeth II. But, lucky for us German language learners, Schüttler has a lengthy German language filmography. So, this month let’s queue up three films starring Katharina Schüttler that will give us a chance to practice German language!
If actor Alexander Fehling’s face looks familiar, it isn’t all too surprising. The young German actor has appeared in several notable English language productions. He portrayed Master Sgt. Wilhelm in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and Jonas Hollander in season five on the television show Homeland. But Fehling also has an award-winning career with his German language roles in film, television and on the stage. So this month, let’s practice German with the films of actor Alexander Fehling!
By the time he passed away in 2015, Helmut Dietl had made a name for himself in the German language film industry that would make many envious. He had written and directed dozens of films and television series. Dietl had been given countless awards, including being recognized with multiple lifetime achievement awards. Bavaria has recognized him with its highest honor, the Order of Merit. So this month, let’s learn German with the films of famed director and writer Helmut Dietl.
Volker Bruch has been in The Reader as well as internationally acclaimed German television series like Babylon Berlin and Generation War. You will soon be able to see Bruch in the Hollywood remake of The Girl in the Spider’s Web, David Lagercrantz’s fourth installment of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series. Bruch is an actor that chooses interesting roles with a lot of variety. This month let’s practice German with the films of German actor Volker Bruch.